The Way of The Sword and Rose
by goldensomething
Summary: An adventure-filled and certainly unexpected romance occurs in this post-time-skip-pre-merman-island tale of the adventures of the Strawhat Pirates, part one in a series. Roronoa Zoro and the previously unknown daughter of Dracule Mihawk, Dracule Ratikka.
1. 1 The Stowaway of Surprising Lineage

WARNING- This story is a combined effort between myself and my co-author, Jeschi, and as such, is unique in the style of writing. During creation of the story, we post back and forth, each of us controlling one of the two main characters in the story, Roronoa Zoro, played by Jesachi, and Dracule Ratikka, the non-canon and previously unknown daughter of Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, is played by myself. As such, the story is told from both points of view from each of those two characters, including a few others, including Monkey D. Luffy played by Jesachi and Nami played by myself. These points of view will randomly changed between the two, as was dictating by the beginning of my separate post and then hers. My efforts have smoothed these often abrupt changes of view, but it is also important to maintain the original format. Also, we begain writing this before we watched all of the One Piece episodes, and so some facts are incorrect, but that is why this is an alternate universe story :) Thanks, and enjoy!

Disclaimer Most characters within this story are the property of Eiichiro Oda.

Dracule Ratikka (c) me

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><p>"There it is!" Dracule Ratikka, Tikka for short, exclaimed in a loud whisper to no one in particular, the excitement making her prone to talking to herself as she pointed to the pirate ship docking down by the shore.<p>

She'd managed to find a secluded area on a hill that overlooked much of her father's castle and grounds, and built for herself a nest in the bushes. Thankfully it had been warm enough that she hadn't gotten cold, sleeping out in the open like this, in the four days she'd been there.

Tikka was a unique individual. She was the daughter of the most powerful swordsman in the world, Dracule Hawkeye Mihawk, but only a handful of people knew she existed. Her mother had died in childbirth, managing only to tell her father the name she wished for her daughter and to tell him she loved him before she passed away.

Tikka took mostly after her; her snowy white hair was long and curly, but she mostly kept it up in a ponytail that bobbed everywhere she went, and her hair was a rich golden darkened to a bronze from her many days in the sun. Her eyes, though, were her fathers, which was why he never let her do anything. Hawk-eyes were pretty noticeable.

So he'd secluded her to a private island with a body guard/nanny named Loo, who had cared for her since birth, along with an older woman whom Tikka barely remembered and who her father wouldn't talk about. She had a feeling, though, that it had been her mother's mother. The woman had stopped coming around when Tikka was four years old, and her father had told her that she'd passed away.

"So that's the Straw Hat Pirates' ship...it's pretty impressive," she mused to herself, plucking at the baggy shirt she wore. Since she dressed more often as a boy, most people mistook her for being one if they didn't see her face. Her father had always told her that he'd let her go around with sunglasses and boys clothes if she didn't have such a feminine, pretty face. Though, she was pretty sure that daddys were supposed to say that.

Her attention was drawn to the two figures exiting her father's castle, Zoro and Mihawk. If her father knew she was there without his permission, he'd flip. He'd gone to so much trouble to get her an island all to herself-well, and for her body guard Loo-in order to protect her from the dangers of the pirating world, but she wanted to be a part of the excitement!

So when she'd heard her father had taken on a pupil? And that said pupil was a member of the Straw Hat Pirates? Well...she just HAD to come. Her father had never been a teacher to anyone except for herself. This guy must be pretty impressive, she'd thought.

And he was, that's for sure. Hot too. She'd been able to identify him once she'd seen him; he was Roronoa Zoro, the famous swordsman pirate hunter. His three swords had confirmed that. She was envious that he knew three-sword style, and wondered, if her plan succeeded, if maybe he would teach her a little too.

Even though her daddy was the best in the world and was obviously a better teacher, it was just good to know variety, that's all.

"Should I go now, or wait?" she pondered out loud as she watched a few members of the crew disembarking from the ship and waving in greeting to Zoro, who stood with her father in the courtyard now, waving back. Not her father of of course, he was too stern for something like waving.

A giggle slipped from her lips, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Papa, you need to lighten up...like Luffy!" she almost said it too loud-her father's eyes flickered in her direction, a very slight frown marring his features. She ducked lower, and didn't move a muscle. Hawks were attuned to movement, so eventually her father turned his attention back to the crew.

'It's Monkey D. Luffy, wow, and just look at his hat! I wonder if he'll like me? Maybe because I have a favorite and special hat, we'll have a bond?' Her hat, currently on the ground next to her for the sake of hiding, was a bit like her Papa's, but papa doesn't care about his hat as much as she cared about hers.

It was her mothers, who'd been a pirate a well. Lulana Jace had been the feared female captain of the Bombshell Pirates, which consisted mostly of women. She'd worn a hat like her fathers, and Tikka was pretty sure it was why they had a baby.

At least, she liked to think it was why.

Her broad-rimmed, red-velvet hat was topped with an elegant white plume. She kept the hat off as she snuck around the side of the island, mindful of the crew. She didn't know how many there were, but as she got close enough, she heard Luffy shouting about food and staying in a castle.

Tikka's red lips curved into a smile. Perfect.

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><p>As night fell, she watched the festivities and wished she could join in. Clearly they were celebrating being together again, and her father didn't seem to keen on the convivial gathering. Though, he did hold a pitcher of ale in his hand, and he kept looking at Luffy as if he…<p>

He's just like Shanks, she realized. Both of them party the exact same way. Shanks was one of the few individuals who knew about her, and even visited her, when he had the time.

With a rueful grin, she tore her eyes away from the festivities...and boarded the Thousand Sunny, moving fast. She moved like her father, and within moments, she was on the deck, through a door, down a hallway, and successfully located the storage room. In the back was a small niche she'd fit perfectly in while remaining invisible to anyone by the door. She dropped her bag on the floor, laid out a blanket between two crates, and decided to get some shut eye. But as she lay there, all she could do was hear the laughter and signing, and get more and more excited about joining a crew.

She really, really hoped they let her stay. She also hoped they were way out to sea before she is discovered. With that thought in mind, and a smile on her lightly freckled face, she slid into slumber.

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><p>Roronoa Zoro did some serious growing since the last time he saw his crew over two years ago. Spiritually, physically and mentally. His sword work had improved, his endurance strengthened. Night and day, rain or sun, health or burning fever, he trained hard, in the only way he knew how. Even his mentor, the fabled Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, was impressed with his development. Zoro was unstoppable, unbeatable, bested only by Mihawk himself, and that nearly always ended in a draw these days.<p>

And while these last two years on Kuraigana Island were some of the best in his life, when he saw the telltale insignia of a skull and crossbones and a straw hat, he couldn't stop the butterflies of excitement in his stomach. He missed his nakama, missed the antics of Luffy and Usopp, missed Sanji's cooking, the sight of Nami sunbathing on the deck, reading her charts. He missed Brook's music, Franky's tinkering. He missed how Chopper could make him smile. He missed the constant running from the marines, the threat of bounties on all their heads. He missed the pursuit of dreams.

He still wanted to be the best swordsman in the world. One day, he would best his mentor and claim his title.

He and Mihawk stepped outside to greet the ship at the docks. Immediately, Zoro spotted Luffy, standing on the figure head, hand on his straw hat, that deranged smile on his face. As the ship came closer, Zoro noticed that his old rubber friend/captain had grown taller, less snot-nosed kid and more unstable man. But wholly still the same Luffy, especially when he waved his free hand high and hard.

"Hey, Zoro!" he called, "Your outfit is SO COOL! OH MY GOD! You lived in a CASTLE! SWEET! I bet they had GREAT MEAT! Tell me the barbeque was EXCELLENT!" Zoro was indeed, donning a different outfit than he used to, with a long emerald jacket with a red sash tied around his waist with his swords tucked in it. Black pants tucked into black boots and his bandana finished the outfit, secured around his bicep.

"Luffy!" Nami scolded, coming into view, "All you think about is meat!" she had grown her hair out, copper waves falling to the middle of her back.

"What? I love it."

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro replied with an idle wave. The Thousands Sunny bumped against the dock and all the crew hopped out. Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Robin, Chopper, Franky and Sanji pulled in last, "Hey guys. Where's Brook?" he demanded, his sharp eyes scanning for the missing crewmate.

"He's still got a few gigs to perform before he joins up with us on some island that Nami knows about. Oh man," Luffy's voice dropped as he got closer to him, "Dude, what happened to your eye?"

"Nothing, still works," Zoro opened his left eyelid, now marred by a scar that kept it closed normally. It was an effort to keep it open for long, but the eye itself had come out of the scuffle unharmed.

"Good," Luffy replied, as if satisfied.

"Zoro," Mihawk's soft, stern voice captured his attention immediately, "Your crew is allowed to stay for the night and restock supplies before you head out."

"Thank you," Zoro replied with a slight bow.

"Sweet! Party! And MEAT!" Luffy jumped into the air, pumping his fist.

After a rambunctious night of drunken chaos, a dreamless sleep, the Thousands Sunny and her crew was ready to set sail by mid morning, fully stocked and now, fully crewed. With some few final words with Mihawk, Zoro climbed up the rope ladder with his is small pack and the ship took off for the open ocean.

Once he was settled into the boy's bunk, he came out to the top deck and inhaled the sea air. There was nothing quite like sailing again, the noises around him so familiar. Luffy was trying to jack food from the kitchen and him and Sanji were having a muffled dispute. Nami was lounging with Robin on the deck, scouring her sea charts and conversing with the other female about where to go. Usopp was… somewhere. Probably off making some hot sauce chemistry experiment. Franky was manning the wheel, keeping them on course. It all felt so… normal.

"So, Nami, where to?" he called, leaning against the railing, the sea breeze ruffling his hair.

She glanced up at him then back down at her charts, "Well, it looks like there's a small strip of archipelagos a little ways from here, a few days maybe that might be neat to check out. A little adventure, of sorts."

"Adventure?" Luffy burst out of the kitchen, giant drumstick in one hand and mouth stuffed with food, "I love adventures!"

Zoro smirked, "We know."

As darkness set and the sea calmed, rocking the ship like a cradle, Tikka roused herself when hunger made her stomach cramp. She had emergency food, which her father told her to always carry in the event of a shipwreck at sea, but she wanted to see if she could get food from the ship first.

She'd pay them back one she got a bounty on some adventure!

She kept her stuff stashed, tipped her head back, blowing a curl out of her face, and crept towards the door of the cargo hold.

Her brown breeches were super comfortable, tied tight with a golden sash, with a white loose blouse tucked into the and pants sash. Her feet were garbed in beautifully made leather boots, with intricate Spanish crosses embroidered into the sides. Gifts from her father.

Strapped to her back, right down her spine, was a single sword, only slightly more curved than a standard katana, with a miniature version of her father's cross at the hilt. Small enough that the sword was completely hidden when she faced forward.

The hallway was quiet, the lamp dimmed low. It was secured tightly to the wall, and designed so that the risks of it, or any of the lamps, burning the ship down was really low. Impressive.

As she crept down the hallway in search of the kitchen, she was increasingly impressed with the design of the ship. There was a damn aquarium, of rare fish. And the kitchen blew her mind.

She hurried behind the counter and went for the fridge, and found it locked. No matter; Tikka was awesome at picking locks thanks to years of getting into the things Mihawk and Loo didn't want her to. She opened it to find...cheese, bread, cream...everything. She gaped. Foooooood.

She glanced back, feeling bad, and went for the cupbord to see if less expensive food could be pilfered. Inside were crackers, and her mind instantly flew to the delicious cheese in the fridge, which would go great on said crackers….

She couldn't resist. But then she was worried that the food might be rare or something, maybe they were saving it. It's always possible, since she always saved her favorite food till last. She stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest, and frowned. This was more complicated that she thought.

She finally decided on some tangerines, since she'd seen an orchard and therefore they could grow more, and bread. She cut herself a few slices, and stole only a small bit of one of the cheeses, and turned around to the counter, her eyes glowing with happiness as she hummed softly to herself. Her plume bobbed softly with her head as she moved.

Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Luffy was half asleep when the midnight hunger struck him. Groggily, Monkey D. Luffy rolled out of his hanging bunk, hit the floor, and headed for the kichen, dragging his arms behind him like a half-asleep monkey. Sanji had long since set traps for him in the kitchen, his domain, to prevent Luffy from doing exactly this. Then again, Luffy had long since figured out where said traps were. He wasn't the captain for nothing.

He slumped into the kitchen, throwing open the door and flipping on the light. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the sight in the room. Not just counters and pots and pans greeted him. There was a woman in the kitchen, snacking on tangerines and bread, a woman he'd never seen before, with long white curls to the middle of her back and a large, ornate hat on her head. Strapped to her back was a sword. At a closer inspection, he thought he recognized the hilt design…

"Nice hat," he greeted her around a yawn, his mind still foggy and unconcerned from having just woken up. He opened the fridge next to her and pulling out some leftovers, only half consciously avoiding the mouse trap on top of the container. He cracked the lid, inhaled the sweet aroma of soup and eyed the woman again, taking her in from her feather to her fancy boots.

"I need a plume," he decided at that moment, "The king of the pirates has to have a plume in his hat," he chose a seat at the table that wasn't the one he normally sat in. Sanji had a trap there, "Don't sit in that seat," Luffy pointed to the one he avoided, "You'll alert the cook."

When the door was suddenly thrown open, Tikka's eyes widened in shock, the piece of bread falling from her lips as a man, Luffy!, turned on the light, saw her, and stopped dead.

Her mouth fell open in surprise, and she lifted a hand to try to explain, but he cut her off with a, "Nice hat."

She blinked at him, and stared at him in shocked silence as he proceeded to casually get himself some food, then headed for a seat, changed his mind, and went to another, warning her of it.

Just like that? Man, this was easier than she thought.

"Uh...Monkey D. Luffy?" she asked cautiously, turning towards him, tipping her hat back, and glancing up at the feather her complimented. "I'm so glad you like my hat! It was my mothers, and I wear it everywhere. It's my most favorite thing in the world! She was known as the Pirate Rose, my mom." Tikka said excitedly, sitting down in a different seat than he'd warned her from and leaned on the counter and stared at him with a smile.

"You're so much cooler than I thought you'd be!" She added, smiling and tilting her head to the side, her ponytail of curls tumbling over her shoulder and her feather bobbing elegantly.

"Uh, Luffy! Who the hell is that?" A voice yelled from the door, and Tikka turned her head just in time to see a woman stride forward, long red hair streaming out behind her, and pointing angrily at Tikka while staring incredulously at Luffy.

"You're just having a midnight snack with a mysterious visitor on our boat?" Nami said with an exasperated expression. Her voice was so loud in annoyance, having been woken up when Usopp had fallen out of his bunk with a huge thud, and then drawn to the kitchen for a snack. When she'd gotten closer to the kitchen, she'd been annoyed that people were being loud when she just wanted to sleep! She was definitely a little hung over….

Tikka stared at her with a surprised expression, her hands shooting up in peace. "Ah! I'm not an enemy!"

Luffye munched on his snack and smirked around his food, running a hand over his head, suddenly missing his hat, "Ya," he swallowed and replied to her previous statement, the sound echoing in his throat, "I have to be pretty cool, I mean, I am going to be the king of the pirates." He ripped a piece of bread off the loaf, "And my hat is MY favorite thing in the whole world! You and I are a lot alike," he finished, just as the door burst open and Nami stood there, looking fit to kill.

He just stared at her, completely unaffected by her yelling, "I was hungry," he answered her simply, "And I found her," he indicated his mysterious guest, "in here, having a snack too. I was just being polite." Now that he was more awake to think about it, he realized that this woman must have been a stowaway on his ship. How awesome! His first stowaway!

"LUFFY!" heavy footsteps came up behind Nami, revealing a very irate Sanji, "Oh, hello Nami, lovely as ever," he interjected before turning murderous eyes on his captain, "WHY are you EATING my food again? Get the hell out of my kitchen!" his eyes fell on the stranger and Luffy practically saw the hearts appear, "Oh, my. Who is this beauty with you?"

"Dunno. I found her here."

Sanji was quickly joined by Usopp and Franky, drawn by the commotion. Robin peered in the galley as well and pretty soon the doorway was too crowded so everyone started filing in. Zoro and Chopper came up too, eying the new girl. Sanji headed straight for the stove, mumbling that since everyone was up, he might as well make something for everyone to eat. Tikka got the impression that this crew wasn't the least bit threatened by her lone person, even if she was a stowaway.

A whole lot of "who are you's" were passed around, before everyone looked at Luffy expectantly. Zoro stood in the corner, arms crossed, eye narrowed in suspicion of the young female at the table. Something about her was startlingly recognizable. It was in the eyes, maybe, because he certainly would have remembered wave crest white hair. Sharp, alert, she seemed to take in every movement. Her hat was a classic pirate hat with a plume and he could see that she was carrying a sword with a decorative handle. He knew that sword hilt, had stared at it many days, many nights.

"Hey," Luffy suddenly leaned across the table to look at her close, "You've got yellow eyes… like a hawk. Hey! Do you know 'Hawkeye' Mihawk? He's got eyes like yours!"

Zoro's eyes widened. Holy shit, that was it. This girl…she looked like a female version of Mihawk. Hell, she could be his daughter, she looked so much like him, right down to her Spanish boot buckles. Even the hilt of her sword matched his. But that was ridiculous, of course. Mihawk didn't have any family, no wife, and certainly no kids.

"You certainly do look like him," he offered from his post, "You could be his offspring, even, if Mihawk had any kids."

"Oh man! What if Hawkeye had like, a secret daughter or something?" Luffy offered with a maniacal laugh.

"I lived with him for two years, Luffy," Zoro rebutted, "No signs of kids… though you look just like him…too much like him…" he inspected the girl again as a strange sixth sense washed over him, telling him that there was no doubt that this girl was Mihawk's daughter, even though the idea was so farfetched it blew his mind. Mihawk was a highly targeted, incredibly dangerous man with a dangerous lifestyle. Zoro supposed he could've had a kid…and hid her somewhere so no one could use her as a liability.

"Dracule Hawkeye Mihawk? As in, you're swords-master?" Nami asked incredulously, turning to stare closely at Tikka, who blushed and shifted in her seat. Her sharp eyes flickered to any movement in the room, tracking everyone like a hawk, before Luffy finally got it spot on, and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Please don't turn back! Don't kick me off either! I heard this is the ship to be on if you have a dream, and I want to be the second best swordsman in the world! I'll work hard and do chores if you want me to, though I don't do dishes...I hate dishes...but anyways, I'm a really good swordsman and I think I could really benefit your crew!" She exclaimed proudly, sliding to her feet and facing the pirate captain, sweeping her hat off and holding it to her chest.

It really exposed her face, and the delicate lines that both her mother and her father shared. Except her father pulled it off masculinely. Freckles dusted her nose, and her golden, hawk eyes gleamed with passion and fierce determination. Curls, freed from the leather tie at the base of her neck that attempted to tame her curls, fell around her face in spunky lines.

As she stood, a necklace of a cross swung into view, as well as a bit of cleavage from the gaping silk blouse. She spread her arms wide and added, with a smile, "Oh! And I'm the best swimmer you'll ever know and I can catch you fish. BIG fish." She grinned and winked at Sangi. She'd done her homework.

When she took off her hat, her face brightened, no longer encompassed by the deep shadows set up the wide brim. She was startlingly pretty, with a young face and delicate lines. The freckles across her nose indicated that she had some sun exposure. It only heightened his suspicion that she was somehow related to Mihawk, if not a direct descendent. And yet, she didn't offer any information about her heritage, only what her skills were and how she could benefit the crew.

"We need a swimmer…" Luffy said seriously, turning to glance at Zoro.

"God only knows I hate diving after your ass…" he replied, earning a chuckle from Chopper and Usopp. Luffy grinned.

Sanji fanned himself when she winked at him, "Beautiful AND she can fish!"

"We could use a better fisherman, we all suck sometimes," Luffy glanced at Zoro again, who shrugged noncommittally. He trusted Luffy's decision, and most of the time didn't have a say as to who joined the crew, such as with Brook. "And I can have the two best swordsmen in the world! Alright, I've decided. You can be on the crew." He tilted his head at her, "Why only second best swordsman? Don't think you can beat the legendary Roronoa Zoro? Do you not want to be number one?"

For some reason, Kuina's voice drifted through Zoro's mind; "You were lucky you were born a boy, Zoro. Because I'm a girl, I can't ever be the best swordsman in the world…" did this little woman believe something as silly as that too? That because she was a female, she could never take the spot as best in the world, so she's settling for second?

"What's your name?" Zoro asked her, "And are you really related to Mihawk somehow?"

Tikka's heart was filled with joy as not a single one of them seemed opposed to the idea. In fact, Luffy seemed very fond of the idea of having a fisherman. She beamed at them, pushing herself up to her toes and down a few times in excitement. She was going to be a pirate!

The Luffy challenged her ability to beat Zoro, and why she didn't want to be number one. She glanced at Zoro, smirked, and propped her hip against the counter, crossing her arms under her chest and grinning smugly.

"Oh, I know I can be Roanoa Zoro, one day. I had an excellent teacher, and for far longer than he had him." She turned her dancing Hawk eyes to Luffy and leaned against the counter, propping her chin up on her hand and grinning cheekily at the captain.

"I want to be number two because my daddy will ALWAYS be number one, of course," she shot a mischievous wink at Zoro, and promptly plopped her hat back on her head, tilting it back to expose her face in the lights of the wonderful kitchen that had enough seating for a small banquet.

The scent of the kitchen started drifting out from whatever Sangi was cooking, and she sat up sharply, leaning against the counter on her toes, her arms propping herself up with her arms. "Oh my Lord that smells amazing! I promise promise promise that as soon as I have a chance to get me some pirate booty, I'll pay you all back for food, I swear!" she added, turning to look at Luffy with an earnest smile. "Oh...and please don't tell anyone who my papa is….he'd come hunt me down and make me go back to my little island. I have to get better before I have a chance of fighting him and making my point. I need to become stronger."

She turned serious at the topic of sword fighting. The dedication and ambition was clear on her face, and Nami thought it was strangely like the expression Zoro wore when he talked about his dream. They were both dedicated to the sword like it's their life. She wondered if the girl was actually as good as she claimed.

"You don't even need to give me a room, I'll just sleep in the cargo hold, I have a blanket," she added, nodding vigorously. She was adamant that they take her. She could not live another day on that boring island.

Zoro's mind was still stuck on what she'd said a few moments before. Her...daddy?

Oh god. Did that mean her FATHER really was HAWKEYE MIHAWK?

The room was hushed at that little declaration; even Luffy understood it. Jaws slacked, eyes popped. Sanji forgot about whatever he was cooking. Luffy sat back hard in his chair. Everyone's gaze was locked on the white-haired woman, who just grinned cheekily, declaring herself capable of beating Zoro and starting sniffing the food, chattering about the glories of being a pirate and something about booty.

But Zoro hooked right onto the whole "beating him" part.

No way was he EVER going to be beat by anyone. Ever. Again. He would be the best swordsman in the world. He was so close now.

"You can't beat me," he told her seriously, leveling her a look. She might resemble her father physically, but there was no way in the world that she was that good with a sword. Not even possible that she could beat him. No one trained harder than him, "I'll fight you right now if you think you're that good."

"I dunno, Zoro, she's got Mihawk's blood," Usopp hedged.

"Shut up," was the reply before Zoro turned his dark eyes to her, "Right now. Mihawk's daughter or not, I'll still win. Outside, on the deck. I'll grab my swords and meet you there."

"Hawkeye Mihawk's daughter versus Roronoa Zoro? This is gonna be GREAT!" Luffy whispered to Nami excitedly, "I can't believe I'll have her on my CREW!"

Tikka glanced at Zoro as he challenged her, and actually felt a little apprehension in her belly. She was good, but she'd seen him train...she still had much to learn, which was the point of the adventure…

No, positive thinking! She could beat him.

"Alright...I'll do it!"

Within minutes, they were out on the HUGE grassy deck, and Tikka couldn't suppress the whistle of appreciation that came from her lips. Her eyes sought out Franky, and grinned at him. "You are an amazing shipwreck!"

The man smirked, thrust his arms together to form a star, and jut his hip out dramatically. "I'm a SUPA shipwright." Tikka laughed, already knowing she was going to like him.

She turned towards the other end of the deck, where Zoro was standing with two swords out. Only two? How insulting…

She glared at him, drew her long, elegant sword, which had roses and thorns beautifully etched into the shinny black blade. Black like Mihawk's.

"Roronoa Zoro, I vow to defeat you and become the second best swordsman in the world, and my name is Dracule Ratikka!" She grinned triumphantly, flourished her hat with her free hand, then plopped it back in place. She slid into a stance, and grinned cheekily, "But you can call me Tikka."

Zoro watched as she bowed to him with a flourish of her hat, introducing herself. Finally, he knew her name. Tikka. He perked a brow at her while she took a stance, looking very serious, her gaze sharp, like her father's. It reminded him that he needed to take this seriously. Never underestimate an opponent, even though he was confident in his ability to knock her down a notch.

They started circling each other. Already, she moved like Mihawk. Upright, confident, her chin level with the ground and her sword at the perfect height for readiness. Zoro mirrored her movement, twirling one sword in his back hand idly, sizing her up.

He lunged for her. She parried, stepped to the side and struck for him. He parried, spinning. They backed up. More circling, more sizing up, checking for openings, for weaknesses. He struck again, she deflected, they parried, thrust, stepped back. Circled. She was quick, that was for sure. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the crew, watching riveted. Luffy was just about to bust out of his skin with excitement. Zoro smirked.

"You move like your old man," he told her, lunging for her again, more aggressively, pushing her back. Steel clashed against steel. They locked hilts for a minute, "That could work against you," he pushed her back, spun out of the lock, struck, deflected, parried, thrust.

Back to more circling. One thing he learned from Mihawk; never rush a fight. Being too aggressive made you stupid, left you open. A clever assailant would pick you off. It was always worth it to take stock of the situation and look for openings rather than rush in and hope to find one up close and personal.

Tikka was breathing just a little heavier, mostly out of excitement. He moved like a dream. She felt like she was dancing with him, especially since his movements were newly influenced by her father, so they moved almost in sync, mirroring their common instructor.

They started circling again, and she twirled her sword confidently with a grin on her face, her cheeks rosy with excitement, her eyes seriously, but glowing with happiness. "You are an excellent swordsman. Nothing less form the great Roronoa Zoro."

She suddenly snapped her legs together, rising up into a tall stance, her arms wide, holding her sword out like the crucifix around her neck.

"But I trained with my daddy for far longer than two years." With a glint of mischief and a fierce determination, she suddenly sprung up, real high, then came down with a strong slash, close enough to be a threat, but rather than physically touching him with the sword, she sent out a large gust of wind to knock him off his feet. Then she shot forward in the wake of the gust, her speed unimaginable, her body low, her sword out. She had a perfect stance, and a perfect balance, the whole time. Her sword was angled to cause the least resistance in the wind. As a result, she picked up so much speed that it turned into instant power as she leapt up at him.

It was difficult to track her movements as she brought her sword over her head and then swiftly downward, right over her head. But in the blink of an eye, she twisted her wrist and her other arm swung back behind her. Zoro naturally raised his sword to block, and a smirk went across her face.

He'd fallen for the trick. He'd raised his arm, and blocked, but now she'd momentarily disabled his swords by her downward momentum as her other arm suddenly swung out from behind her again, and revealed that she'd pulled her sword apart into two halves.

Her sword...was actually two swords, perfectly welded with great strength but also great thinness. They fit together like a puzzle piece, and when together, looked like only one sword. She moved so fast, and the blade was black and didn't reflect light, so that it was almost impossible to track when she'd whipped it out behind her body. Then she came at his unprotected side with the unnoticed sword.

And it couldn't be blocked so easily, because her other sword was pushing down too fast and too hard for him to be able to deflect it in time to block her second sword. She grinned cheekily at him.

Zoro watched as suddenly, she was gone, moving so fast he could hardly track her movements. Indeed, she inherited the speed from her pops. But he'd trained his eyes to be sharp, to anticipate the movements. He cracked open his scarred eye, allowing him to see just a little bit better, though he was very used to fighting with one eye closed.

A burst of wind almost had him off his feet and sliding across the deck. Only quick reflexes saved him from her downward assault, leaping to his feet to counter her attack. As their swords clashed, something was immediately different about it. It was thinner, lighter.

No way…

Time slowed down for him. She tricked him, devil woman! Her sword was indeed of remarkable design. Two blades, fitted at once together as one, then again, separated into two, the second one dark as midnight with zero reflection, a nightmare to track. She aimed for his unprotected side. She was good, really good. A flood of excitement shot through him. He hadn't encountered anyone so skilled in some time, Mihawk excluded.

But she forgot. He was the master of the Santoryu style. Three swords. Lightning licked through his veins, fueling his speed, he lunged his face forward to grasp one of his swords with his teeth, and quickly drew his third blade. With strength at his advantage, he dropped his body weight and shoved her back, his third swords halfway out of the scabbard as it deflected her surprise attack. She slid back away from him a few feet and his eyes glinted with the pumpinh of adrenaline.

He rushed her, drawing his three blades up for one of his best attacks. He may have learned some great lessons from her father, but he still had his own flavor that earned him his legendary title so that his name would one day reach to the heavens. Time… to end this.

The two blades in his hands came up to parry her sword, capturing the hilt and trapping her. Then, he spun his body, stepping back behind her so that her arms was tucked under his two arms, pulling her in tight to his body, preventing her from moving. The third sword came up and tucked under her chin and he stopped his momentum right there, the threat obvious. Had he continued, he would have decapitated her and Luffy would be out of a fisherman. And with her arms trapped against him and her front against his back, she had nowhere to go.

"I win," he told her smugly, releasing her and stepping back to sheath his blades, "That was a good fight though. You have skill. I'm impressed."

Tikka was annoyed when somehow, he managed to block one of her best moves. He drew his third blade, and excitement shot through her. Finally, he faced her in a true battle. But she spoke too soon, because once his third sword was drawn, the battle was over quickly, too quickly. He used a move that had her eyes wide with admiration, and before long, he'd immobilized her and put her in a position that would have meant the death of her had he been a ruthless man.

He stepped back, and she turned to bow to him, bringing her swords together in a swift, practiced motion and sheathing her sword on her back at the same time as she bowed. Irritation and frustration made her veins run hot, and she grit her teeth to keep from gnashing them.

She'd expected the battle to last longer. She truly needed much more training, especially if she hoped to confront her father.

So she shoved her pride out of the way and straightened to face him with a serious expression, her golden eyes snapping with the determination that took pride's place. "Roronoa Zoro, please teach me! I will work as hard as any man, I promise you that. I will defeat you one day, just as you hope to defeat my father one day. Please give me the chance to learn from one of the best swordsmen of the ocean."

She spoke formally, as one must when discussing the sacred art of swordsmanship. It was a complete turn around from her normally flamboyant personality, but she knew he would understand. He was raised in a dojo, of that she was sure. One didn't get that good without eating, sleeping, and peeing with a sword on from a young age, and she knew he was too proud to have consumed a devil fruit. He wanted to be the best swordsman from his own strength.

Her father had told her the blade was sacred, and to also respect it, or else one would get hurt.

A few feet away, the crew was staring with open mouths. Nami let out a low whistle and crossed her arms, Robin casting her a rueful smile before cooly turning back towards the door to the girl's dormitory. "I don't know about you, but I'm for bed after such an exciting show at such a late hour..."

"You're just going to go to bed after a battle like that? She almost had Zoro! That's crazy...Plus, I like her," Nami said with a grin. "She's got spunk."

Franky struck a pose, "Ow!" he said, shaking his head and then clapping Sangi on the shoulder, nearly bowling the guy over. "She's a little fireball. Zoro, you better watch out with that one. She'll get ya."

Tikka suppressed the grin that wanted to spread on her face, and schooled her features to stay stern and serious as she faced Zoro in anticipation of his answer.

He instantly had more respect for her when she bowed and asked for him to be her instructor, her voice serious, her expression determined. Yet he could sense some underlying pride in there and he quirked a grin. It seemed that those who cherished the way of the sword were consumed by that particular deadly sin.

There was some trepidation about teaching her, though, as there had been when he had all but begged Mihawk to take him in. She would learn his movement, his style of fighting. He would teach her the tenants he held sacred and she could very well use them to exploit him if she did indeed plan to best him one day. By taking her on as a pupil of sorts, she would come to know all his weaknesses. No matter; as the best swordsman in the world, not even his own techniques would best him.

And yet, hadn't Hawkeye Mihawk done the same for him? What good would all Zoro's knowledge do him when he was dead? Someone had to know what he stood for.

He glanced up at the crew, who made off back to bed, stifling yawns and shuffling feet. It had be to be well past midnight now. He shifted his gaze back to the little woman in front of him, her back straight, unruly curls framing her pixie-like face. She had spunk. He had to respect that. And she had talent too and that was something he really liked. Had Kuina not had that tragic accident, would she be just as good? Had she had someone who told her she COULD be the best in the world, would she have tried harder?

"Gender doesn't matter to me. Man, woman, I wouldn't change my style for you. But I'm not easy to keep up with, that's for sure. And you have to swear that you will hold true to your word and beat me one day. That you won't listen if someone says you can't because you are a woman. Then, I'll train with you." He held out his hand for her to shake on it, his mind jumping back to eleven years ago when he made a similar agreement with a spirited girl.

Tikka's serious face suddenly dissolved into a smile as she slid her hand into his and shook on it with all of the passion she felt, but then she couldn't help herself…

She leapt on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Loo was a hugger, and he'd made a hugger out of her. She had no idea if hugging was normal or not for people, because she'd never left her damn little island before, really. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said excitedly, pulling away. She grinned up at him, spun in a circle, and jumped in the air.

"I'm a pirate, AND Roronoa Zoro has become my swordsmaster! Best. Day. EVER." She exclaimed to the sky, glanced back at him, and gave him a little salut with her hat. "Thank you sir, I'm sorry if I startled you, but I was just very happy. I'm going to get some sleep now."

Blushing a little at her outwards display of excitement-totally Loo's fault-she hurried towards the door that lead to the storage hull. With a last peek at him, she disappeared inside, and headed for her little nest by the crates.

She was so happy she couldn't stop beaming. She was practically skipping by the time she reached the hull. She laid down with her head on her bag, and stared up into the darkness, wondering if she could fall asleep when she was this excited.

Zoro was blushing. The flush on Zoro's face was a completely involuntary action from her hug. It wasn't very often that he was hugged, much less by a female…

He managed to pat her back only for a second, awkwardly as she squeezed him, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet in pure excitement. Then he stared as she released him, saluted him with her hat and headed to the storage hull. He was left to stare in her wake, flabbergasted.

'She's a female Luffy…' he thought suddenly. Oh man. He could barely handle one of his captain. But two? They were going to be devils together.

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><p>AN~ I hope you like, please review! :)


	2. 2 Landing! Tikka and Zoro Alone!

REMINDER-this story was written in tandem with the author Jesachi, and as such is composed in a way of alternating viewpoints between the two main characters, Tikka and Zoro.

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><p>A few days later, Zoro could smell the storm in the air before the clouds even began to gather. It was early in the afternoon. The electrical current sent the whole crew on edge, along with the fact that they were adjusting to the newest member. Tikka was proving to be an apt nakama. She got up early sometimes to help Sanji cook some breakfast, helped Luffy with the sails, and sat with Zoro in the Crow's Nest for lookout duty.<p>

Now, with the clouds barreling in at full force and the harsh pitter-patter of rain beginning to fall, everyone was scrambling.

"Raise the sails!" Luffy shouted, his hand on the top of his hat to keep it from blowing away, "Secure the rigging! This is gonna be a big one…"

Zoro, already in the Nest, jumped out onto the mast to pull the lines that would raise the sails. Waves rocked the ship, getting bigger with every gust of wind. Rain fell harder, heavier, the sound of it hitting the deck deafening. He coiled the sail faster, his short hair sticking to his skin. Down below, the crew was using rope to tie anything down that wasn't already nailed down. Sanji tied Robin to the side of the boat – a precaution, considering she'd eaten a Devil Fruit – and Usopp was being unhelpful by running around, panicking.

The wind whipped rain against Zoro's face and he swiped his hand across his eyes to clear it of rain water. Nami shouted something unintelligible, and Luffy's voice answered in reply. Franky slipped over the deck, the ocean water threatening to breech the sides of the ship. It was getting worse. Zoro rolled the sail faster, tying off one section and shimmying over to the other one.

"Zoro! Do you need help?" Luffy called, cupping his hands around his mouth to be heard over the wind and rain.

"I got it!" he replied, ducking his body low to the mast as wind nearly took him out. Luffy staggered around the deck like a drunken sailor with zero sea legs.

Waves after waves pounded them. Water washed up on deck. Shouts sounded from down below, but Zoro was busy with the last of the sails. The sky darkened so deeply it was as if night had come early. He finished his last knot when a terrified scream lit the air. In a flash of lightning, Zoro leaned over to see a monstrous wave jump the deck and sweep Chopper away. Panic pierced through him. The littlest member of the crew couldn't swim, not that this storm was much friendlier to those who hadn't consumed the devil fruits.

"GUM GUM…" Luffy shouted, making a mad grab for the reindeer – like creature.

With the sail secure, Zoro maneuvered himself towards the Crow's Nest again to get down to the deck. The wood was drenched, slippery and unstable. The mast swayed against the storm.

"Oh shit!" he swore when his foot slipped and he tumbled over the bar, catching himself by hooking his legs, his adrenaline spiking. Below him was all ocean from his angle. He let out a breath of relief and started again. His fingers were inches from the rope ladder and he slipped again, the wood making the hand holds difficult at best. He grabbed for the rope on his downfall, but his momentum was too much; it slid through his fingertips.

"Fuck!" he swore again, feeling like a damn rookie, flailing as he tumbled head over flipping heels towards the unforgiving, hungry ocean. He was going over…

"Zoro!" Usopp shouted, obviously seeing his plight, "Luffy! Zoro's…" but the captain was in the midst of hauling up Chopper. The last thing Zoro saw before the ocean snatched him up was Luffy staring at him with wide eyes, his reaction time not fast enough to digest what was happening to complete the action.

Nearby, Tikka was tugging on a rigging, which was fighting to whip free in the strong winds, when suddenly a form dropped in her periphery. She turned her head just in time to see Zoro fall into the raging water.

Her eyes widened, and her heart stuttered. She sprang into action, quickly tying off the rope, throwing her hat into a barrel, along with her boots, and ran to the edge of the boat before seamlessly diving off the edge. She was the strongest swimmer on the crew, and she'd seen that Luffy's long arms were already busy with Chopper.

She was in the water within a minute of seeing Zoro fall. Her body hit the water with a hard smack as the water surged up to meet her. She managed to gulp down a breath before her angled body cut through the water like a knife. Somewhere between when she'd jumped from the ship to when she'd hit the water, she'd shed her shit, leaving her in a bathing suit top to better allow for maneuverability in a storm. The billowy shirt would only have slowed her down because of the increased drag.

She opened her eyes in the salt water, winced, and sought out Zoro.

He was below her, pushed in the downward surge that had preceded the upward wave which she'd dived into. She kicked, hard, and used her arms, her muscles straining against the current. She reached out, and managed to grab his shirt, and yanked him towards her. Moving from experience-Loo was a devil fruit user and she'd had to haul his ass out of the ocean more than once-she pulled his body flush with hers, his back to her front, and slid one arm around his torso, then kicked for the surface.

She hauled ass upwards, kicking with all of the power of her legs, toned from hours and hours of deep water fishing when the season was particularly low.

Her lungs burned. She kicked harder, and finally, they broke the surface. She gasped, coughed once, then dragged air into her lungs. Her arms tightened around Zoro compulsively, not quite sure of his swimming capabilities. She blinked water out of her eyes, looked up, and saw with shock that the Going Merry was nowhere in sight. The waves were so high and so violent that they'd been swept far away from the ship in the time of their underwater adventure. She gasped, fear shooting through her. Lost at sea?

"Zoro!" She cried through the weather, hoping he could hear her over the raging winds, pounding waves, and occasional thunder. "It's gone!" She cried again, but suddenly a huge wave crest over them, and they were both dragged under. Though her arms burned, she kept her hold on him, knowing it was the only way to keep them together. She kicked, bringing them to the surface, sputtering, once again.

Zoro had hit the water with such force that it scrambled his brain around in his head. Under the waves in the moments before Tikka had pulled him up, he wasn't sure whether he was up or down or sideways backwards for a brief moment. The current tumbled him head over heels a couple of times, dragging him around. With one hand holding his swords to make sure they didn't get swept away, the other hand whipped out in an attempt to stabilize him.

Then, suddenly, something grabbed him. He lashed out for a moment, fearing a sea monster but opened his eyes with a wince to see Tikka had jumped in after him, her white curls contrasting against the dark water. She'd come to save him? He made an angry protest at her but she seemed to know the way back to the surface and starting swimming with him. He helped, kicking his strong legs.

They surfaced with a gasp, rain and salt water lashing their faces. Immediately, he started scanning around them for the ship. It… wasn't in sight.

Fuck.

Tikka's cry only confirmed what he'd already been dreading. Another wave crashed over them, forcing them under. Zoro swiveled around in her grip so that they were face to face, holding onto her arms for fear of being pulled apart. Adrenaline and panic made him heedless of the fact that she was just in a little bathing suit top.

"I know!" he called back, raising his voice to be heard over the waves, "This is not gonna be good," he wasn't much of a navigator, hell, he wasn't that swell with directions in general, but he knew about one thing with the ocean. The currents would take them to land, "We have to wait out the storm and follow the currents to land. Don't let go," another wave washed over them, forcing them under. He held onto Tikka with a death grip and hauled her back to the surface.

This… was gonna be a long night.

* * *

><p>"ZOROOOO!"<p>

Luffy stood it the Crow's Nest of the Thousand Sunny, his eyes shaded with his hand against the post-storm gray clouds. He could still remember the look on Zoro's face as he went over. Luffy hadn't been able to get Chopper up fast enough to reach his swordsman before Tikka was diving into the water after him. Painful minutes went by as Luffy waited for them to surface. Minutes dragged on… and on…

Zoro and Tikka had been lost at sea.

And he couldn't stand the way it made him feel. He'd traveled the Grand Line with all his crew members. He hadn't lost a single one of them, in all the adventures, in all the storms. Why now? Did Fate have something different planned for Zoro? He hated it, couldn't bear the idea of traveling anywhere without his trusted swordsman. All he could hope for was that Tikka had found him and the two of them were safe together somewhere.

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><p>Zoro woke up in so much pain, his body tight and tingling. He groaned, sitting up slowly, head in his hand. As his vision adjusted, he realized he was on a beach somewhere. The storm had stopped and the clouds were dissipating, revealing blue sky. When had they washed up?<p>

Panic shot through him. Tikka!

He glanced around and whooshed out a breath of relief. She wasn't far away, maybe a few yards down the beach. From his vantage point, he could see her chest moving up and down. Good. Breathing.

He wasn't sure when he'd lost consciousness. Maybe fighting the storm had been too tiring. Even for a strong swimmer like he was, he remembered his legs burning with the effort to tread water, to keep her up when she was getting tired. He remembered taking turns to hold each other up. He'd been opposed to it, but in the end, with no end to the storm in sight, it was what they needed to do to stay afloat. And alive.

He crawled over to her prone form, his legs too wobbly to attempt to stand. He tapped her shoulder, grabbing her and giving her a good shake, "Hey, Tikka," he said, "Are you alright? Get up. We've made land."

Tikka jerked awake, her hand going to her sword and her body shooting into an upright position. Immediately, her head smacked right into his forehead, and with a gasp, she plopped back down on her back, seeing stars.

"Oh man...that...was a nightmare," she groaned, closing her eyes and lifting both her hands to her face now to rigorously rub it back to life. She forced herself to cough, until the last bit of sea water rushed up her throat and out her mouth as she quickly rolled over and spit it out.

Lying on her stomach now, she lifted her head and peeked up at him through her soggy curls, hanging around her face now, making her yellow hawk eyes look bigger against the pale contrast of her face. Her freckles were barely visible.

She was in a bright red swimsuit string bikini top, and thankfully her brown breeches had stayed on, as well as her gorgeous gold sash, which she was most thankful of all, since he had been a gift from Loo. Thank goodness they had gone over near a summer island, or she'd have frozen to death in such an outfit. "I'm sorry...are you okay?" she asked, squinting in the bright light and rubbing the spot on her head where she'd konked him. The island looked fairly sizeable, and a dense forest clustered around most of it.

"Hey you!" A rough voice came from the distance. Tikka's head swiveled to find a group of three men standing a couple of yards down the beech, all wearing large and nasty swords. They were definitely...pirates.

"You here to steal our treasure? Well I think you'll find it difficult to defeat the Blue Lagoon Pirate legion!" The man in the middle growled at them, raising his sword and pointing it straight at them.

She groaned and dropped her face into her hands. "Not now...and not them. Zoro, they have four ships of pirates! They're on this island? Let's run for now, I can't fight like this," she pushed herself to her feet, got dizzy, and practically toppled over right onto him.

Zoro rapidly rubbed the spot where she smashed her head into his and eyeballed the pirates that came down the beach. Holding Tikka up by her bicep when she stumbled, he thumbed open a sword on his hip, drawing the eyes of the pirates down. He could only hope the sea water hadn't damaged them.

They swallowed simultaneously, "Are those three swords?" one whispered frantically.

"Santoryu style? That must be… Roronoa Zoro…"

"Is he here to collect bounty on us?"

"No you dolt, he's a pirate now. Don't you read the news? He's worth a lot of money…"

Zoro narrowed his eyes at that comment, a ghost of a smirk on his face. Hells yeah, his bounty was up pretty high these days now.

The pirates eyed him again, whispering something about telling the captain before the brave – or stupid – one in the middle pointed his sword in his direction, "Watch your back while you're here, Roronoa Zoro! When we tell the captain you're stranded here, we'll have your head before your crew finds you!"

"We'll see about that…" Zoro replied with a perked brow. If it weren't for the fact that his head was spinning and his knees were trembling from exhaustion, he would've taken these guys out no problem and the rest of the crew would be none the wiser. But his blood pressure spiked at the very idea of a huge battle with a whole mess of pirates. He hadn't had a good solid battle in a while. His blood thirsty side cackled manically and said to him, Let them run to their captain. Bring it on!

Plus, the advantage to having a whole crew on this island meant he and Tikka could sneak supplies and maybe a boat and a log pose. If he had a log pose, he could kinda sail. He was no navigator like Nami, but he could find somewhere to wait for his crew. They'd talked about heading to a group of islands before the storm. With a ship, he could sail there and meet them.

Good plan. Break.

"Let's get outta here," he said to Tikka, supporting her as he disappeared into the dense foliage, leaving the pirates on the beach. He didn't expect pursuit; that little trio didn't seem like the type brave enough to fight off his reputation, let alone his actual swords. He was positive they would run off to the captain before attempting anything. He was willing to wager that he could have a shelter built and get a nap in before that though.

He headed deep into the forest, knowing that the pirates would be closer to the beach to watch their ships. His legs ached, his body protested, but so long as he kept moving he didn't have to think about the exhaustion. He half-carried Tikka with him, holding her up under her arm, afraid she would collapse on him. She wasn't at all dressed to survive any kind of weather, even if this was a summer island. All she had on was the red bikini top, low pants tucked into her knee-high boots and a sash around her hips. They would need shelter and some place fairly secluded to light a fire.

His brain worked in overtime, making a list of things that needed to get accomplished. Build shelter. Sleep. Stalk pirates. Kill them. Get log pose. Get ship. Find crew. Simple.

They approached a cliff face and after a moment, he deemed it too high to climb and instead found a little spot with an overhang, "Wait right here," he told Tikka, not daring to stop himself, "Get some rest or something. We're going pirate hunting later," with that, he tromped back into the forest and starting leveling a few trees with some expert slicing. With some vines and logs, he constructed a lean-to against the overhang, successfully building her into a little space just big enough for the both of them and a fire. He left a little hole in the top for smoke to escape. The great thing about the cliff was that it would conceal any smoke signals. And they would only light the fire at night. With some final touches and some leafy branches to disguise it from immediate sight, he brushed his hands off and declared the job done. It was then, and only then, that he crawled into his makeshift fort and leaned back against the cool rock.

"Here's the plan," he told her, closing his eyes for a brief moment, "We're going to steal a log pose, and a ship and get the hell off this island and try to find Luffy and the others. Normally, I'm opposed to stealing. But let's think of this more as resourceful surviving." After all, one didn't travel for a few years with Nami and not pick up a skill or two.

Tikka was impressed with Zoro. He was efficient and quick, and within moments he had a shelter built for them and they were out of view. She settled back, her body sore, her lungs still burning from the strain she'd put on them. But at least they could rest now.

Her eyes snapped open as she processed his words. "You mean, we'll hope they have a log-pose otherwise we can't go anywhere. Besides, I know these pirates, and their captain is really strong. We should get lots of rest before we brave them."

Despite the warning, she had utter confidence in Zoro. He oozed confident skill. Damn that was sexy...too bad she was too tired to pursue that thought any further.

A shiver went through her, as it was starting to get dark already and it was getting colder. She glanced over at Zoro, tilted her head in consideration as she weighed her options, then finally shrugged and scooted over to him. Closer. She paused. Closer.

Finally, she stopped when she was practically pressing her side against his. She peeked up at him and grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but I'm really cold and I'm not really dressed for the occasion. I think it's going to get very cold tonight." She added solemnly at the end, looking away from him and across the little shelter.

Pink filtered into freckled cheeks. He smelt really good. And the way he'd practically carried her all the way here? Amazing. She was SO glad she wasn't here by herself.

Zoro gave her a sidelong look, his expression neutral. Clearly, she underestimated his skill. Didn't matter. He'd lay waste to the pirates anyway. They needed the supplies.

"Yeah, well, we'll just have to see." He eyed her warily as she scooted closer to him, paused, then scooted closer, like a kid waiting to get caught. He moved not a muscle, his hands linked behind his head, his legs out straight and hooked together at the ankles. Within moments, she was right up next to him, her entire side pressed up against his. The contact was startling at best. She proclaimed she was cold.

No shit. All she had on was a bikini top and pants. And not that he was an expert on women or anything, but he had an inkling that they got cold more often and more easily. She was a tiny thing, after all...

He shrugged out of the green coat he was wearing and draped it over her head, successfully swamping her in it. That left him in just a blue tank with his red sash around his hips and bandana on his arm. And his pants and boots. God have mercy on him should she freeze to death during this rendezvous. Mihawk would skin him and feed him the seagulls.

"Wrap up in that. You'll be fine," one thing he learned about the Grand Line; be prepared for any kind of weather. That's why he dressed in layers now, more than he ever did growing up.

As he tossed his jacket over her, and the warmth made Tikka groan in happiness, the sound tapering off into a purr before she pulled the jacket around her with a happy sigh. She wiggled her head out from under it to peek up at him again, her golden eyes alight with glowing happiness and mirth.

"Thank you. Please let me know if you need it back. I don't want to make you cold in stead."

Man, this jacket smelled amazing. She drew in a deep breath, trying not to make it obvious that she was smelling his jacket. A warm blush spread across her cheeks again, but with the jacket over her head, she was practically hidden from him. Other than Shanks, it's not like she had a wide pool of guys to experience. Loo smelled good, but he was fond of perfume, so he didn't count. Interesting to note that even manly men like Zoro could smell tasty.

"Zoro? I'm really glad I'm not stuck here alone, and particularly glad that you are here. The real world is...unexpectedly exciting," she added with a quirky grin, then shook her head and sighed, snuggling down onto the ground next to him, curling up into a ball.

"Night Zoro. Wake me if you need anything," she murmured softly, a white curl falling across her cheek as she shifted in her sleep, then fell still.

Zoro glanced at her. She thought this was exciting? This was… a disastrous waste of time. Though, he supposed that if he was stuck on an island for his entire life, without much company of others, that something like this would be considered exciting. Thrilling even.

She curled up into a ball by his side, her body still pressed against his and within moments, she was sound asleep, completely buried under his jacket.

Zoro laid his head back with a sigh. He was pretty wiped himself. A little nap would do him wonders before going out to kick some ass. He smirked, closing his eyes. It wasn't long before he was dozing.

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><p>AN- Chapter 2! This is a very unique story and I hope you're enjoying! Just to let you know, the next in the series which will be put up on Jesachi's profile is a romance between Nami and Luffy, also written by the pair of us. Book 3 will be a pairing of Franky and Robin, and is in the process of being planned as we speak. In addition, Ace and a as-of-yet unknown female will also get a story, prior to his untimely death.

Please review, as it really helps us with our writing!

Thanks!


	3. 3 Attack! Daughter of the Rose Pirate

Within a few hours, it was fully dark, and it had turned cold. Very cold. Tikka's body, in her deep sleep, started shivering madly as she unconsciously snuggled deeper into his jacket, to no avail.

Something woke Zoro up, pushing through the layers of fog he fell into. After a quick sensory check, he was certain no one was around and realized that it'd gotten colder in the last couple of hours. The moon was up and he could see his breath coming out in little puffs. Frost was gathering along the blades of grass. The chill didn't bother him much, considering he'd sleep through just about anything except a battle, but clearly, it was bothering Tikka. Her body was shivering on the borderline of violently. He came to the quick conclusion that that was what had awoken him; her tremors were vibrating up his side.

If she continued like this, she'd fall into a comatose state and likely not wake up. Not that he was a doctor or anything...

"Great," he mumbled to himself, "Just what I need. Women…" he shook her shoulder, "Tikka. Hey, Tikka. Wake up or you'll freeze to death."

And naturally, nothing happened. She was dead to the world. Or would be soon. And Mihawk would kill him. Though, Zoro was sure he was a dead man anyway once the master swordsman found out that his daughter was missing. And bunked with pirates. Then lost at sea.

With a sigh mixed with annoyance and defeat, he curled his hand under her shoulder and pulled her upright until she was under his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her, pulling her in tight to his body heat. He situated the jacket over her face more, keeping the cold out and the heat in. Then, he rubbed her arm rhythmically in an attempt to create warmth. After a few minutes, the compulsive shivering had simmered to just some light tremors and her teeth stopped chattering.

Zoro laid his head back again and glanced outside. From what he could tell, they had a couple more hours until dawn. He could get some more sleep, then they could do a little re-con in the morning and then attack the following evening. That sounded good.

The warmth from his body had Tikka sliding into a deeper, calmer sleep. A few hours after he'd tucked her against him, she woke slowly, nuzzling herself closer to the source of warmth. Her mind was sluggish and groggy, probably from the cold from earlier.

She blearily blinked her eyes, and found that her face was covered. She pulled the fabric down to peek out, and found herself snuggling right up under Roronoa Zoro's shoulder, one of his arms wrapped around her and holding onto her shoulder.

How…?

She stayed perfectly still, and in the faint pink light of the early morning, she could see that he was still sleeping, his head tilted back, his other hand resting on his swords.

A blush filtered into her cheeks, and she looked down at herself to see that one of her hands was resting on his chest, where she'd pillowed her cheek on throughout the night. Well, wasn't this just awkward?

But if she thought his jacket had smelled good, HE smelled amazing, and the guy gave off warmth like it was his job. His body, which was indeed as rock hard with muscle as she'd wondered, was practically radiating warmth like a heater. He was extremely comfortable, which could be a bad thing.

He was her swordsmaster, should she really be thinking of him like this?

She glanced up at his sleeping face, and her stomach erupted in butterflies. Was this her first crush? How...odd.

She sat up a little, just enough so that she wasn't practically lying on his chest, and tugged his jacket down off of her head, her white curls spilling out.

"Zoro…?" she asked, loud enough to catch his attention, looking up at him with a perked brow and poking him in the side to wake him up. "Did something...happen...last night?" she asked him with a teasing grin, looking down at herself again, tucked neatly against him like a cat or something.

Zoro became aware of the warmth of the morning sun filtering through the lean-to and he started to claw out from the blankets of sleep. He was aware when she started to stir, sitting up and pulling the jacket off her head. He didn't move, didn't give any indication that he was awake until she uttered his name. His response was to open one eye and look at her.

"You nearly froze to death, that's what happened," he replied, releasing her and stretching his arms over his head. He felt so much better now that he had some rest. He gave her another sidelong look as she sat up off him and he stood to his feet. Not that he typically noticed, but the green jacket looked good on her. Complemented her white curls. She was kinda a pretty girl.

The thought made him grimace. He must still be half asleep to be thinking something like that.

He moved to the edge of the lean-to and gazed out into the dense jungle, his eyes sweeping the area. The foliage reminded him of Little Garden and he inwardly shuddered to think about that place. Not an island he'd readily go back to.

"What do you say to a little pirate hunting?" he asked her, turning to look at her over his shoulder, his right hand resting on the tops of his swords, "Four shiploads of pirates should be easy pickings for us. Besides, they'll have food. And treasure," he added as an afterthought, "Your first bounty as a pirate. Should be exciting."

He glanced down at his swords, then crouched to quickly inspect them for rust. Luckily, they seemed to be in good shape.

Treasure hunting against other pirates? Tikka thought, a grin spread across her face.

"They even threatened us first...it's self defense AND kick ass," she informed him with a smirk as she shook out her hair, then pushed herself to her feet. "Let's do it." She dusted herself off, drew her sword in a swift and practiced motion, and split the swords apart to inspect them quickly. They had also weathered the storm and sea water well.

She re-sheathed them. It was always good to check your weapons before heading out, especially after the unexpected dip in the ocean. Her father had once forced her to check it every five minutes for a week.

She'd hated him that week.

Tikka stepped out of the lean to, stretched her arms high into the air, and breathed in the fresh smell of the forest.

"This is going to be great...will you watch me and tell me what to improve afterwards, sensei?" she asked, turning back to look up at Zoro with a cheeky grin, her fingers itching to hold her beautiful sword.

At his grunt of consent, they started out.

* * *

><p>They made their way through around the island, heading back to the beach and hunted for signs of pirates. They found a few on patrol, chatting away. Those loafs didn't notice as Zoro and Tikka stalked after them, following them silently and stealthily to the camp not too far away.<p>

She was still wearing his jacket and as she walked, it streamed behind her like a great cape. He was inwardly amused by her, looking so pumped, like she was about to jump out of her skin with excitement. He knew the feeling; the tendrils of adrenaline over combat were starting to creep through his veins and wrap around his lungs, making it hard to breathe just at the thought of taking on four hundred or so pirates.

Just because there were a lot didn't mean they'd have any skill. Pirates that relied on great numbers often lacked great skill.

The Blue Lagoon pirates were camped in a large clearing with a stream running through it. Half of the camp was on the beach. Scattered like little white sheep were multiple tents, with a huge one at the top of the clearing. No doubt it belonged to the big boss. Zoro peered around the tree he was standing against and cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Around the tents were fires and sleeping rolls. Pirates were lounging about, singing songs and scuffling with each other. Clearly they weren't too concerned about Roronoa Zoro being on their island.

The door to the big tent swept open and a large man with very little neck stormed out, looking enraged and fit to kill. He was easily eight feet tall and probably a half ton of muscle. He carried a gargantuan sword across his back. So. Another swordsman. Zoro smirked, a slightly manic look creeping into his features.

"There are trespassers on my island and you're all still lounging around?" the captain shouted and all the subordinates clambered up. "Roronoa Zoro is here on this island! I want him found! I want him dead! I want his bounty!" the roar of 'yes sirs' was deafening.

"It's all about the bounty…" Zoro mumbled, disgusted. No one wanted to fight him anymore simply because of his name. They wanted the money on his head.

Tikka surveyed the scene with a shrewd eye. There were a lot of pirates in the initial vicinity, so their best chance was to surprise them, giving them greater time to take them all down.

And the greater the surprise and shock value...the better.

She glanced sidelong at Zoro, the back to the scene. "Well, at least your so feared that you're recognized on sight by people you've never met before." she reasoned with him, smiling up at him with a mischievous smirk, then stood, shrugging out of his jacket.

"You better be ready, swordsman. Oh, and bare feet are more fun for fighting in the sand," she added, then reached down, untied her sash enough to let down her breeches, then strode out of her pants altogether. All that remained was her bathing suit with her gold sash around her hips, leaving very little to the imagination. She then calmly strode out of the jungle and over the sand, approaching the group.

"Oh, it's so hot, and I'm terribly lost," TIkka intoned, pitching her voice up a little as some members of the crew turned towards her, and full out gaped, their mouths popping open in surprise and admiration. The ends of the shimmering sash jangled and swayed with each step, accentuating the sway of her hips and making her look even more appealing.

"Who...are you? Are you a goddess of his island, here to reward me for my dominion?" The captain asked with a chortle, turning his black glittering eyes on her with glee.

Tikka stopped, surrounded by gawking men who were pushing to try and get a glimpse of her, and smoothly drew her sword. The slow and deliberate motion accentuate the finely tuned muscles of her arms and legs, flexing gently with her motions. In the gleaming sun, her skin looked looked even more tan and smooth, indeed the image of a goddess.

It was enough to delay their reaction.

"She...has a sword?"

"Does she know how to use that?"

"That so makes her hotter."

Whispers from the crew drifted through the beach as she shook out her white curls, and said, "Nope, good sirs, I am here with my sensei to whoop all of your butts."

And with a wink, she shot for the closest crew member.

Pandemonium erupted.

* * *

><p>Zoro was already a step ahead of her by tugging off his boots and tucking them to the side at her comment of barefooted fighting. Then, he drew his swords and by the time he turned to face her again, Kuina's sword was between his teeth and Tikka… was shimmying out of her pants. All that she had on was her little red string bikini and her sword strapped across her shoulder blades. The ties to her suit swung temptingly at her hips and around her nape, though not as much as that shimmering sash did...<p>

"What're you DOING?" he hissed as she winked at him and sashayed out into the clearing, waving a hand and pitching her voice to claim that she was lost.

Never in his life had Roronoa Zoro been shocked senseless, least of all by a woman. But when she strutted out into the clearing like she owned the place, his jaw dropped. Kuina's sword hit the sand with a thud.

She was… one full figured female. An ample amount of breast was tucked into the bikini top and the curves of a very bodacious ass peeked out of her bottom. With the blood red color and her wave of curls, she was an absolute knock out. Well, he supposed that he thought she was pretty before with her little face and devilish expressions and the sprinkle of freckles across her nose, but he never really paid attention to women. His reasoning was that they were born to distract him from his ultimate goal so he simply glanced over them. Kuina was the last one to make an impression on him and he had been ten years old then.

When Tikka drew her sword and he realized that she planned to fight in that outfit, he was flabbergasted to feel his heart pick up a notch. He ate, slept and breathed swordsmanship. Nothing else mattered. And here was this little woman who lived and died by the sword like him AND she was a model. It was going to be a deadly combination.

Chaos bloomed and sprouted. The sound of steel clashing against steel brought him back to his senses and he picked up his third sword, stuck it back in the scabbard and rushed into the fray with her. Two against four hundred. Odds were good… in their favor.

Pirates rushed him as soon as they saw him; all of them surged forward, motivated by the bounty on his head. With a spin, he took out twenty in one shot, making the others to follow immediately nervous, approaching him with less fervor. So he was right; numbers over kills. He slashed and cut, not even using his best attacks against these foes and still taking them down numerously.

"Weak," he muttered, stabbing his sword behind him and through the eye of an enemy trying to attack him from behind, "and disgraceful," he added, glancing over his shoulder as his assailant hit the ground.

He turned to check on Tikka and his heart again did another strange roll-over thing in his chest to see her fighting with such grace and skill. And clad in a two-piece. It was… he decided on sexy. That was a good word for it.

Just beyond her was the captain, shouting and screaming orders for his crew to kill and take the head of the swordsman, "Spare the female!" the captain demanded with a chuckle, "She'll be fun later."

Zoro smirked, a crazy light glowing in his eyes. He took a moment to wrap his bandana around his head and called out to Tikka, "The captain is mine!" then, he jumped up and literally used the pirates' heads as stepping stones, darting over them, his swords angled down to slash necks as he went, leaving a river of blood spurting behind him. He landed on the ground in front of the captain.

"Looking for me?" he asked, slowly tugging out his final sword. He meant business.

The battle had begun slowly for Tikka, because it took a little while for most of the pirates to understand that a battle had begun. They hadn't realized she'd attacked because she was so little, but shortly enough, a riot had broken out as everyone rush to take out both Zoro and Tikka.

"Spare the female! She'll be fun later." The words were shouted over the throng of men coming at her, making a lot of them stumble as they scrambled to keep from injuring her.

How sweet to think they could.

She smirked, her eyes flying up when Zoro called out to her. She watched, eyes alight with excitement and shock, as he promptly mowed down a ton of the pirates by running over their heads, leaving a blood bath in his wake.

That was pretty impressive. Not to mention the fact that he was downright sexy and mysterious in that bandana, especially when he pulled out his third sword. It gave her the shivers just to watch him with three swords.

THREE, dammit!

So cool. She'd been so happy and thought she was so cool because she fought with two swords instead of one, but then she'd found out someone fought with three of them. Her dream was about to come true: watch the three swords style take someone down.

Other than herself, that is…

So far she hadn't split her blades yet, fighting with just the combined one. So far she hadn't needed to. But then…

"Hey, if we all rush her, we can catch her without hurting her too much! There will be so many of us, she won't be able to fight us all!" One man shouted, behind her.

She whirled around, her eyes narrowing, and one of the pirates close enough to her paused. She saw him freeze because motion, and the sudden lack thereof, drew her Hawk eyes. Which was exactly what he was staring at.

"Captain! Captain I think I've seen eyes like-" the man was abruptly cut off when Tikka shot forward and slammed the ornate hilt of her sword right against his nose. Hard enough to crush his face, but not hard enough to kill him by sending bone fragments into his brain.

She definitely didn't want it to be known whose daughter she was.

"Roy, get your group over here. Attack!" Another sound had her wheeling back to where she'd initially heard the rabble-rouser calling attention. She tossed her white curls over her shoulder, glanced over at Zoro to see that he was sexy and in control as ever, and turned back to face the large group of pirates suddenly mobbing her.

Butterflies brushed the insides of her tummy, and her blood rushed hot and fast with excitement. She definitely figured it was mostly from the thrill of the battle, but the sight of Zoro, his the muscles of his shoulders and arms tightening as he swung his swords, definitely made more butterflies happen.

This was a good day. She got to kick ass AND see Zoro fighting. She hoped he was watching her to make sure he could give her pointers after the battle.

"You're ours, little lady!" a rough voice came from one of the men. She refocused her attention, smirked, and held her sword out in front of her, pointed upwards, with both hands.

"Oh, I'm ready boys," she answered in a purr, then promptly dropped down into a low crouching position just as the crowd gathered around her, blocking her off from all directions. She grinned, and in a motion so fast it blurred, she split her swords in two, but kept her hands and the hilts touching, the blades falling open on either side before she surged up, spinning her body in a tight pirouette. Her hair flew out around her like a white banner, her swords creating two blades of death as she kept spinning, taking out huge numbers of them as they tried to get closer. She might lack the power that Zoro wielded behind his swords, but her speed and torque more than made up for it with these pirates.

Finally, she lost momentum, and found herself in the center of a large whirl of fallen men, their bodies lying in an outwardly rotating circle.

Kinda artistic...awesome.

She tipped her head back and faced Zoro. "I hope you saw that one...I will definitely be needing feedback. I just made it up." Her eyes were shinning, her cheeks were rosy from exertion and excitement. Men around her were staring with open mouths.

"Holy shit, I think she's related to Hawkeye Mihawk. Look at her eyes!" Someone shouted, someone near the captain, who suddenly looked at her, hard, and grinned.

"I want her, boys! I don't care if you die capturing her, but you catch her or there will be repercussions! Then we'll see if this little spitfire IS related to the swordsman...and this one...you're fair famous two. It's a lucky day for me, taking out Roronoa Zoro and capturing me...well...a vixen of potentially RICH bloodlines." The captain grinned, then roared into laughter.

Tikka sighed, cocked her hip to the side, and said in a bored voice, "Well when you put it that way, at least you won't feel to bad when we kick your asses. At least you lost someone good instead of someone half as good...then you'd just look pathetic."

The captain eyed Zoro, ignoring her comment, and chuckled confidently, "You think you can beat me, Roronoa Zoro?" he laughed, drawing his sword, "I am the great Captain Brueger of the Blue Lagoon pirates! I have travelled up and down the Grand Line. I will not lose to the likes of you!"

Zoro perked a brow, "The likes of me? I just took out a hundred of your crew. I think I can handle the captain." His voice was a low drawl. He flickered his eyes to watch Tikka out of the corner of his eye. For a chick in a swim suit, she was doing a damned good job.

Captain Brueger leveled his sword to Zoro's nose. That… was a big fucking sword. Easily seven feet long. Made sense. This guy was enormous. He assessed it visually. Typical steel, large, flat side. It'd make a nice springboard, "Once I defeat you, swordsman, I'll be taking your little female. If she is related to Hawkeye Mihawk, she'll fetch a hefty ransom."

Zoro placed Kuina's sword in his mouth, "I'll doubt you'll be taking her anywhere. Now, shut up and fight!" he leapt backwards, backhand springing out of the way of that monstrous blade as the captain swung it towards him, slicing the very air Zoro'd been in a millisecond ago. He landed on his feet and jumped in the air, using the flat of the pirate's sword as a springboard. It worked perfectly, sending him high into the treetops. He sliced branches out of his way, raining them down and a smile crept onto his face as the captain danced around to dodge them, distracted. He plunged back down to the earth, slashing the air and sending razor sharp wind at his opponent. The captain stumbled backwards, blood spurting from his arms and chest.

"Damn you, Zoro!" Brueger roared, spinning blindly with that massive blade. Zoro ducked and dove between his legs, swiftly rolling to a safe distance and shooting up to face this Brueger, now behind the man. He waited calmly for the pirate captain to turn around and figure out that he was there.

"Can't heave that thing so fast, can you?" he taunted, "Damn, you aren't even worth using three swords on. I'm done with this," he was wasting time fighting this oaf while Tikka was taking on the rest of the damned crew. If he didn't finish this quickly, he wasn't going to get any more action. It was time for one of his secret techniques; Crossing of Six Paths, a great technique he invented during his two years with Mihawk.

Brueger lifted his blade with a roar and as he brought it down, Zoro spun, bending his body and swinging his swords in an S like shape, slashing the man six times. The broad sword hit the ground an inch away from where he was standing. Zoro didn't move and watched stoically as blood erupted from the six slices in the captain's body and the man promptly fell over with a gurgle.

Calmly, he stepped over him and surveyed the battle. Tikka was laying waste the pirates, who didn't even notice that their captain just went down, all of them so focused on trying to obtain her without injuring her. Of course, she was going through them like dominos. Her swordplay was lovely and her vision was sharp but as he watched her, he noticed that she wasn't letting any of the pirates get close enough to attack her. They'd barely raise their swords and she was drilling them. Always attacking, never counter attacking. His eyes narrowed. She was offensive fighter. Curiosity peaked. Was she offensive because that was her style or was it because she wasn't much of a defender?

As the crewmen starting noticing that Zoro was standing over the dead body of their captain, they started shouting and panicking.

"The captain!"

"Zoro took down the captain!"

"The captain's dead!"

He yawned dramatically and his stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten in at least a day and he was getting hungry. He jumped back into the fray, turning up the heat and determined to end this thing fast. No one was allowed to escape. Anyone who tried he cut down instantly. He slashed and parried, his fervor increased, his attacks more intense. He fought with two swords again, not bothering to waste three on this scum. His mind was numb to the sounds of screaming and clashing swords around him, the smell of blood and sweat just a reward for hard fighting.

He sensed someone behind him and turned fast, clashing hilts with an opponent. His face was a mask of a snarl before he realized he was staring down at a little woman in a red bikini…

He censored his aggressiveness immediately, not wanting to behead her on accident. How tragic would that be. And also a sure death warrant for him, at the hands of her father.

Her curls were loose and flying around her face, the humidity in the air frizzing them out into a wild mess. Her cheeks were flushed from fighting and the spark of adrenaline lit her eyes up until they burned with intensity. She was the goddess of war in that moment and it startled him at best.

"Watch out," he told her, spinning out of the lock and slaying some pirate sneaking up on her.

Within seconds, they cleared the place out. Not a single pirate was left standing. The sand was soaked red with blood and he was careful where he stepped. He sheathed his swords and surveyed the damage with an approving nod. Not a bad haul, that was for sure.

* * *

><p>Tikka could stop herself from grinning as Zoro and the captain battled. She continued to hold her own, but her eyes were consistently drawn to their battle. She paid for it with a slice across her arm when one man got too close when she wasn't looking.<p>

She let out a fowl curse, one that made her opponent blanch, coming from such a pretty lady. It was just enough of a distraction to bring her sword up, and waste the man. Sheesh, she better start paying attention, because Dracule Ratikka did not get cuts. She prided herself on her tan and perfect skin.

A shout went out moments later, and Tikka turned to see that the fight between Zoro and the captain was over, and Zoro was headed right for her and the rest of the crew. "Coming to join the fray, eh?" she shouted to him gleefully, shooting up into the air and knocking a guy out with a well aimed kick. As she landed though, her bare foot was less than happy. Without even a limp, she swept her blades up and returned to the battle.

Somewhere in the whirl of swords that followed, she found herself bodily locked with an opponent, and it was his smell which gave him away before anything else. She glanced up, and saw the flash of green hair that signified Zoro. She smirked at him, masking the shiver rippling down her spine; she was surprised by how much she liked the feel of his body pressed right up against hers. It was just for a fleeting moment, but it was a nice fleeting moment.

He spun away from her, and she resumed the battle, only to find it ending much sooner than she'd expected. She'd barely broken a sweat!

"How the hell did pirates these dumb get this far on the Grand Line?" she mused as she made her way over to Zoro.

"Nevermind, that was still amazing! Zoro!" she hurried over and grinned up at him. "I'm so happy that I was able to partake in my first pirate raid with you! It was brilliant," she breathed, looking out to where three ships were bored in the cove, and another one was anchored further out to see.

"Let's steal a ship and take all of the treasure and try to find the crew," Tikka said suddenly, with a mischievous smile, and quickly joining her swords together and sheathing it expertly.

By then, Zoro was already heading to the largest of the tents, and Tikka rolled her eyes but hurried to follow him.

In the big tent, Zoro started scrounging around for supplies. He dug up a haversack and began stuffing it with food, a roll between his teeth as he got something in his stomach. He tossed one to Tikka when she came into the tent, "Fresh food," he talked around the bread, "Eat something and grab a bag. There's treasure over there," he pointed to the corner of the tent where gold and jewels were piling over a chest – very typical pirate booty, "Take whatever. We'll use it for finances when we catch up with Luffy."

With a bag nearly overflowing with just about everything and anything edible, Zoro dropped it at the tent entrance and scoured an office-like area. Anything that didn't resemble a map or a log-pose was discarded, tossed to the floor as he turned the place upside down. Papers scattered, flying into the air willy-nilly.

Nothing. Absolutely flipping nothing. Not even a god damned sea chart of any ocean, let alone one of the Grand Line. Insanity. These pirates had to get here somehow… a ship couldn't travel without a log-pose and a map… he ran his hand over his green hair, rubbing his scalp agitatedly and flipped his eyes around the tent in a blind search.

Then… there it was. He could've cursed himself. Suck to the pole of the tent with a dagger was a map and on the table below it, a log-pose. Zoro snatched it up and stared at it. He cursed for real, out loud. An eternal pose. That was bullshit.

"It's an eternal pose," he told Tikka, moving to stand beside her, "It looks like it heads for this island," he pointed to the place on the map, a decent sized island called 'Olympia', "Completely in the opposite direction of where Nami said we were headed." They didn't have a choice though. There was a good chance that if this island had an eternal pose, then they had a large enough civilization to merit the use of one. Perhaps there they could exchange it for a regular log pose.

He pocketed the little device and swung the heavy food bag over his shoulder with ease, "You got the bounty?" he asked and they headed out to the beach where the ships were marooned. Zoro considered for a minute, inspecting the ships. Clearly, one was bigger and had obviously been the captain's ship. But the other smaller ones were sized for smaller crews.

"I vote the bigger one," he told her, "I'll bet there's more stuff on that ship."

Tikka eyed the boats, and knew that by choosing the larger one is was more of a risk, since it was more difficult to sail a larger ship, but he was right, and it was also the best maintained ship out of the bunch.

Clearly this captain didn't care so much about his crew.

"Well, we'll have lots of free time as we try to catch up with them, so I don't mind the extra work of the larger ship." she grinned, striding towards the ship with a bag of loot tossed over her back. She'd reclaimed her pants, and now wore a clean white shirt she'd pilfered from the tent. One of the few clean shirts there.

"I miss my hat so much...I hope Luffy and Nami have been taking care of it for me," she commented as she dropped the bag on the ship, then started to inspect everything.

Within an hour, they were ready to cast off. She'd confiscated the log-pose from Zoro when it became apparent that he lacked the ability to consistently follow it, and set them up to sail in the right direction. The wind was pleasant and working in their favoe

"Well, at least this is a faster ship than most...means we should be able to catch up, or at least find them quicker," she informed him as she propped herself up on the railing and looked out across the shimmering ocean.


	4. 4 A Day of Fish and Crossed Blades!

Zoro monkeyed his way up to the Crow's Nest, a view so much higher than that of the Thousand Sunny. The day was clear and beautiful and the air was fresh, unlike the stale smell of blood from a clearing filled with half dead and injured pirates.

He was a little mulish that Tikka had taken the pose from him ("The red arrow is the way we want to go!" "You think I don't know how to use the pose? The white way!" "Clearly, you are directionally challenged.") she thought he was directionally challenged. Daft woman. He could navigate just fine. He didn't need a stupid log pose anyway. She let him keep the map at least. The great thing about a pose was that it made the map obsolete in the Grand Line. He studied the island they were headed to, a place called Olympia.

"Hey," he called down, leaning over the railing, "You ever hear about this place we're going? Olympia?" she was seated on the figure head, much like Luffy did and gazing out over the ocean. The wind blew her white ringlets around her head and she casually brushed her hand over them, guiding the unruly waves away from her face. He was certain it was an unconscious gesture. She still rocked his cloak, wrapped around her hips like a jacket for now, though she'd at least taken the liberty to don a shirt. Though, it was still four sizes too big for her and it hung over one shoulder. So simple and yet, he was reminded again of the tight, curvy little body that was under all that clothing. He made a face at his thoughts and scrambled down the rope ladder to come stand nearer to her.

"So," he started, crossing his arms and leaning against the side of the ship, "I couldn't help but notice something about your fighting style earlier. You are a very offensive fighter. Is it because you prefer it or because your defense sucks?" he flipped a look at her like he knew better and she better not try to fool him.

Grinning meekly, Tikka ducked her head, and beat a hasty retreat to the helm. Zoro rolled his eyes and turned away.

* * *

><p>As Zoro was up in the crows nest, Tikka had decided to enjoy the day from the masthead. The wind was pleasant and smelled of the fresh sea, instilling her with excitement and happiness. She loved to be sailing, having these crazy adventures. Even the lost at sea part hadn't been that bad, in hindsight.<p>

She closed her eyes as the breeze blew her curls across her cheek, enjoying everything about this moment, including the sound of Zoro's voice from the crows nest.

Alone on a ship with a man for who-knows-how-long? Her father would have a shit-fit. So would Loo, for that matter. A wicked grin spread across her cheeks, unbidden. The sun was starting to set, and she knew she would soon be pretty exhausted, considering the less-than-perfect sleeping conditions of the night before, the previously dangerous night at sea, and then her battle-happy day. Quite a busy life she was leading these days.

Her sharp ears picked up the sound of Zoro hitting the ground from the ropes that lead up to the crow's nest. She half turned to him when he came up to lean against the railing, and admired the way his arms looked crossed like that, then flipped her eyes up to his when his words finally filtered through.

"Oh great! I'm so glad you were paying attention," she exclaimed with a grin, turning around to face him and leaning on the figure head, the white shirt she wore billowing out from the sheer size of it and revealing a healthy amount of her cleavage and the red bathing suit.

"Defense...is...well, I don't think I've ever really focused on defense. I usually don't give any opening a chance...but I suppose...that is less than ideal, huh?" She blushed a little and rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

Zoro gaped at her, and couldn't believe that daddy dearest didn't work on her defense with her. It was a strong, unbreakable defense that saved his ass a couple of times, especially in situations where he lost one or two of his swords. Against Captain Kuro, against Hatchi in Arlong Park… defense is more than just counterattacking. It's being aware of your situation. She would definitely need to be strong in it.

"We'll work on your defense some then," he told her. A particularly strong gust of wind billowed the shirt she was wearing, gaping it open along her collarbone where it sat. And damn him if he didn't notice the way she was standing and the swell of her breasts.

He must be more tired than he thought he was. He never cared what women wore or really what they looked like. Nami walked around half naked all the time. When Vivi was abroad with them, she did too. And Robin… it never distracted him as much as this girl was in the past three days. Maybe all the training with Mihawk was fucking with his head or something. Culture shock back to the world where there was more than just sword fighting.

He needed his head in the game again if they were going to find Luffy and the gang.

Outwardly calm, he kept his eyes glued to her face while his peripheral vision was drooling. God, he felt like that damned cook. He needed to get a grip, "Tomorrow, after some rest, we can do a few drills if you're down with that," he offered.

Tikka let out a grin of happiness and leapt off the bulk head with a happy sigh. "That sounds great. I am in desperate need for sleep…" She turned towards him and looked him up and down, her expression appraising, but less in the sexual way and more in the you-were-a-badass-today way.

"So...since you were pretty awesome and badass today, swordsmaster Roronoa, I volunteer your talented and amazing services to take first shift. I'm trusting that you'll be able to keep the needle going straight. Remember, it's this part of the arrow you want facing forward, NOT the other one."

She grinned innocently and tugged his cloak off of her waist and up around her shoulders, nestling into the warmth it offered, and involuntarily pulling in his scent with enjoyment. Seriously, they should bottle the stuff and sell it, it was that sexy and awesome.

"Oh, and because of your badass-ery, you can have the captains cabin, which is huge and impressive. I'll take the second mate's cabin. Wake me at two in the morning and I'll take over for the rest of the night and morning," she tipped her head back, winked at him, and promptly turned on her heel and marched away, heading for the door that lead to the cabins, whistling a pirate tune.

Staring after her, Zoro couldn't begin to fathom this woman. Or his reaction to her. The look she gave him, the once over, while not intended to be an appraising look, shot right through him, baffling him and rooting him to the spot. What was it about her that made him feel like he'd swallowed butterflies and they were trying to fly out through his bloodstreams? He only ever felt like that at the prospect of a battle; probably part of the reason he never paid attention to the fairer sex. They could never make him feel as good as he did when he was fighting.

… apparently, he was wrong.

"I can handle the log pose," he grumbled at her, the elated feeling instantly vanishing as she in turn stung his pride as well as made him feel warm and fuzzy. She snuggled into his coat like she belonged, waved a jaunty hand and proclaimed that she'd take the second mate's cabin.

And like that, she was gone with a "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

Literally, she was singing it...

She had to be one of the strangest people he'd met out here on this long adventure called his life, and he'd met some extremely bizarre individuals.

He headed back up the Nest with the log pose and plopped down with his back against the mast and the compass in front of him, red part pointing straight out. The needle was steady. It couldn't be THAT hard to be a navigator, especially out here. All you had to do was follow the direction of the needle. He grumbled inwardly, cursing Tikka and Nami and everyone else who thought he couldn't follow a map and a compass. He'd show them. He'd find the damned crew before they even had a chance to look for him.

* * *

><p>Morning was a brilliant red sunrise. Zoro was still in the Crow's Nest, still following the red needle. He'd opted to not wake up Tikka and just keep watch all night. It wasn't like he didn't have the ability to nap sporadically during the day.<p>

"Red in the morning, sailors take warning…" he mumbled, glancing up at the sky and around. Were they in for another storm? He couldn't tell. For precautionary measures, he shimmied around and raised the other sails except the main one, the memory of his fall during the last storm a vivid reminder. He didn't want to be that again.

Inside the cabins, Tikka woke to the feeling of light filtering over her cheeks. She peeked open an eye and stretched out her body like a cat, a happy sigh coming from her as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. What a pleasant morning…

Wait, morning?

Her happy and cheerful grin out the porthole turned into a black scowl as she pulled herself out of the bed, clothed herself properly, grabbed his coat to toss over her shoulders for the cool morning air, then marched her sassy ass right out onto the deck to glare at her swords-master.

"Zoro! Why didn't you wake me? I'm not a baby, you know. I can take shifts just like the next person. So you go get some sleep right now or I'll be thoroughly displeased," she grumbled to him as she stopped across the deck and planted herself directly in front of him with her hands on her hips and her hair tumbling around her angry snake curls.

The sun, slowly turning from red to golden, washed her hair in shimmering colors of fire, matching her golden eyes and her tanned complexion. Her freckles where wrinkled in displeasure as she eyed him.

Zoro just stared at her blankly, arms crossed over his chest.

Her eyes flickered away from his handsome face and to the log pose sitting next to him. Which he obviously hasn't looked at in a while, because they were sailing at a slight angle away from the direction they need to be going.

She perked a brow at him, pointed to the doors to the cabin, and said dryly, "Go sleep while I get us going in the right direction again, oh great swordsman." A wicked light was twinkling in her eyes as she teased him, reaching down to grab up the log-pose.

Grumbling, Zoro walked towards the cabin doors.

* * *

><p>Three stinking days Luffy'd been sitting in the Crow's Nest of the Thousand Sunny, binoculars glued to his peepers, staring at the ocean. He was pretty sure his retinas were burned out of his sockets from the reflection of the water.<p>

Everyone had tried different methods to either cheer him up or coerce him to leave his post. Usopp had offered to shoot the canon with him. Sanji bribed him with food. Nami threatened to beat him. Then she threatened to throw him in the ocean. Chopper tried to get him to play. Nothing worked. Short of a natural disaster, he was NOT leaving the Crow's Nest.

He needed to find Zoro.

The guilt was awful. Never in his life had he felt so bad, like his stomach was eating itself alive. After all their adventures together, Luffy had NEVER lost a crew member. He wouldn't rest until he found his master swordsman.

Luffy sighed heavily, pursing his lips together and placing the binoculars down next to him. His legs stuck through the railing of the Nest, dangling into the air, his hands wrapped around the wood and his forehead resting against it. There was nothing he could do and he hated that feeling. He didn't even know where to start to look for Zoro. Common sense told him to find land and wait to see if Zoro would pass through, maybe even wait to hear a rumor of him.

"Luffy!"

He looked over the edge to see Sanji standing below him with a plate of something delicious smelling in his hand. Some meat. Luffy's stomach protested the smell, testament to his mindset. He was so distraught he didn't have interest in eating.

"You hungry?" Sanji continued, "I made meat. Lots and lots of meat. With Barbeque."

"No thanks," Luffy replied, picking up the binoculars and turning to continue his fruitless search.

Sanji sighed and made a face. Three days he tried to get Luffy to come down and eat. Everyone was super worried about him. The cook turned and headed back to the kitchen. He passed Nami on his way, "He's still up there," he told the navigator, handing her the plate of food, "Maybe you can convince him to eat. I've had no luck whatsoever."

* * *

><p>Zoro felt refreshed after his nap. Tikka had been so fiercely pissed off that he hadn't woke her up that he quickly disappeared into the captain's cabin. But once he laid down on the soft down, it wasn't long before he was out.<p>

He came out onto the deck and shaded his eyes against the late afternoon sun. Geez, he'd slept forever. Not unusual for him, though. He glanced up at the steering head where Tikka was chilling, the eternal pose in her hands.

"Yo," he greeted, his boots tapping against the stairs hollowly. He stifled a post-nap yawn with the back of his hand, "What's the heading, capitain?" he leaned against the railing and looked out over the massive ocean, "Are we anywhere near where we should be?" he braced his arms against the rail and stepped back to stretch his back, "Ya know, let's have a fight," he glanced up at her with a wicked grin, "Work on your defense. Besides, I'm raring for a good duel."

Tikka glanced up at the sky. The sun was on its way down when Zoro finally re-emerged from the cabin, and she'd spent the day enjoying the breeze, fishing, and storing the fish. While also exploring the sea while tied to the ship.

But before Zoro had come out, she'd begun to get antsy with boredom. So when he proposed a battle, her eyes lit up like stars and she whirled on him to grab his forarms with a half bow.

"Yes! I have been dying to do that all day! I went fishing, by the way," she added, releasing him and crossing her arms with a grin. His jacket was tied around her waist now, and her left shoulder was exposed from the baggy white shirt. One strap of her red bathing suit was visible.

She stepped away from him, strolling towards the center of the deck. She'd managed to find boots that weren't too disgusting or too big, though they were nowhere near as good as her own boots. She pulled her mass of hair back at the nape of her neck, curly tendrils escaping the band despite her efforts.

She turned to face him, her hands at the ready on either side, and smirked at him. "So, how exactly are you going to teach me about defensive fighting?" She was so pumped to get to fight him again, her blood pressure was spiking and a shiver raced up and down her spine. He was such a badass, and the light in his eyes that was always visible when a fight was imminent was downright sexy.

And he was staring at her with a weird expression. Zoro though, she was the living, breathing reason why he avoided women like the plague. The way her shirt fell over one shoulder so that one strap of her bathing suit peered out and how she all but skipped into the center of the deck had his stomach flipping over. Was it the thrill of the imminent battle with her or her that made his blood sing?

It had to be the battle.

"The first thing about defensive fighting is that having a strong defensive makes your offense even stronger. Defense isn't just blocking and dodging. It's blocking, dodging and then attacking," he pulled out two swords. This was just a simple training, "Defense means to lure your opponent into doing what you want them to do and then striking when they show you their weakness," he nodded his head at her, "Draw your sword and attack me."

She pulled out that curved rapier of hers and came at him full force, swinging her blade with full intention. He dodged, blocked, on the defense to demonstrate for her exactly what he meant. She swung for a low strike and he blocked with one blade, immediately luring her into attacking him from the top. He grinned when she spun and attacked him from up high. He blocked her and pushed his second sword up until it was threateningly close to her neck.

"Just. Like. That," he smirked, his body language oozing self-confidence, "I wanted you to attack me from above so I could sneak up like this," he twisted his sword in his hand and tapped the flat of the blade against the skin of her neck softly.

He stepped back from her, disengaging her for a moment, "The best way to practice is for me to attack you and leave obvious parts of my defense open for you to counterattack in. We'll take it easy first."

Tikka's eyes were dancing with excitement, not a single flicker of fear darkening her golden irises as she actually took a step CLOSER to him, involuntarily, when he stepped back with that smirk on his face.

She didn't realize that defense could be used like that. "That's amazing Zoro!" She exclaimed, practically dancing up and down on her toes. "I didn't realize that defensive could be offensive…"

That wasn't true...she seemed to recall her father telling her this, but she might have been mad at him that day...

"Teach me! Oh, I am so ready," she breathed, moving back from him now, but her eyes lingered on his face rather than his swords. She preferred to watch her opponents' faces rather than swords because she could see their core, and any muscles twitch in the core would let her read his movements like a book.

Well, at least it would work on MOST opponents.

Either way, she couldn't stop staring at him. The excitement and confidence he felt about his skills as a swordsman just gave him this...glow. She couldn't help it, he was just so damn...drawing...to her, when he was all alive with the spirit of the sword. She could see the love he had for his weapons, the love he felt for the clashing of blades, the battle of wits.

Her heart fluttered with that same excitement as she slid herself into the defensive stance. She knew the stances, knew, theoretically, the way defense worked...she'd learned them all...she'd just never worked on them. Whenever Loo or he papa wanted her to, she'd managed to push the offensive regardless, and trick them into teaching her new attacks.

So while she'd much rather be learning attacks from Zoro, she had a feeling he wouldn't be distracted by her and give up. And learning anything from him was worth it.

So she lifted her swords and held them at the ready for his attack.

Zoro recognized the light flickering in her eyes, the unadulterated excitement. It was a look, a feeling rather, that he had every time he drew his swords. Just the sound of steel scratching against the scabbard had his blood pumping.

She was practically quivering with anticipation, her body trembling, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her physical reaction to a fight baffled him, mainly because he didn't experience such things. All his bundle of nerves were trapped inside of him.

He lunged for her, starting with basic sword attacks. He'd attack her and leave something open, like his side or his neck and give her feedback such as "step back and stab," "spin, counterattack to the neck," so that she had something to go on. She mastered it quickly and he was certain that she'd done drills like this before, but hadn't practiced them often. Practice and training were the blood and oxygen to a good technique.

Before long, they were going back and forth, a "your turn, mine turn" type of rotation. He'd attack her first, she'd counter and attack him back until he counterattacked and so on. The humidity of the weather had sweat beading up and traveling down the back of his neck. At one point, he shed the shirt he was wearing and she did too and seeing her fight in that little bikini top was distracting the hell out of him. Red was an attractant color anyway and he kept finding that he needed to watch her shoulders to avoid staring actively at her. It frustrated him that he was so easily diverted, which made him more aggressive.

It was her turn. She countered his strike beautifully and somehow, she managed to get a shot at him, the tip of her sword grazing his cheek. He jumped back from her and wiped his fingertips across his face, the blood smearing and his hand red. He flipped his dark eyes up to her with a shocked look, kinda impressed, mixed with a little "you little brat." Not just anyone drew blood from him.

He started in on her again, a determined smirk on his face. He was going to give it to her, thinking she could slice him. She countered and starting in on him, putting him on the defensive. He blocked, letting her push him back until she left him a beautiful opening by her neck and he stepped off the tracks and sliced for it. She didn't block it fast enough and he nicked her cheek, laying open a paper cut-like slash on her face. The blood pooled up and a tiny drip fell down her delicate face.

"Look, your first battle scar," he grinned wickedly, "Because I know you don't have any others," he gave her a once over, referring to her prancing around in her bathing suit for those pirates.

* * *

><p>The thrill of training with Zoro kept her blood pumping and her eyes dancing the whole time, even as a few hours flew away from them as they worked out drills and techniques in the defense. She never knew how useful defense could be for her own offensive moves.<p>

She was enormously proud of herself when she managed to nick his face with her blade, but her enjoyment was short lived. He came at her with mischief in his eyes, and her heart skipped a beat at the intensity on his face, the way his jaw tightened with concentration. It was damn sexy.

His intentions became clear to her the moment after she felt the sting of his blade on her own cheeks. The cut was so shallow and so unexpected that she wasn't sure she'd received one until she reached up to touch her cheek and came away with a dot of blood.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be…" she muttered, then glared at him and brought her sword up in front of her. The fact that he'd checked her out enough to know she didn't have a single scar-thanks to her protective father and nanny-made her cheeks flare red and her body flush with sudden warmth.

And while he may be damn sexy with his bare chest dotted with beads of sweat and those delectable cut lines of his abs, but he'd just mini-mocked her. So not a go.

"You better be ready for this retaliation, considering you asked for it," she warned him with a slow and mischievous grin sliding over her face. She shifted her stance, and then flew at him, using speeds she normally reserved for real battle.

How did he always seem to provoke her?

She couldn't be mad at him when her blood was singing with excitement. Their swords clashed, and an epic showdown began. She had a feeling he sensed her need to truly engage in a fight, rather than this training shit, and met her with equal vigor. The duel ranged all over the boat, from the masthead to up in the riggings even.

She was making it a point to illustrate to him what she'd learned from the day, and made sure to use more defense than she was inclined to, forcing herself to slow down a little.

In the end, they found themselves in the very middle of the deck, the slanting rays of the setting sun illuminating her hair in shades of red and orange. Her body was shimmering with sweat, her chest heaving with breaths. She was ready to end this now.

She slid into a stance that would lead to one of her more advanced attacks, one which brought her sword up and over for a surprise attack that had all of the power of her little form. She spun low, then shot towards him at a blinding speed, and brought up her sword much later than was common in such a bodily attack. Like lightning, her sword was suddenly there, above her, swinging downward in a graceful arc.

They clashed, body to body, sword to sword. He may be stronger, but she'd angled herself to make it more difficult on him as she pressed harder, closer. They were pressed body to body, his bare and ridged stomach pressed flat against hers, her faces inches from his.

All the while, all Zoro could this was that this was exactly what he lived for, what he dedicated his entire existence to; the fierce emotion of battle, steel clashing, sparking, harsh breathing, sweat soaked brow, everything moving so fast that you no longer relied on your eyes and simply on the sequence of moves and the knowledge of the anatomy. He could practically taste the desire for the raging fight; her patience was done. She wanted to fight.

He was thrilled to oblige her.

Anyone who was watching would have guessed right away that he was master swordsman Roronoa Zoro and she was offspring of Hawkeye Mihawk. What they did could not be replicated by any other. Swords danced around the boat, starting at the deck, up to the stern, back to the prow. He chased her up the rope ladder to the Crow's Nest and they balanced along the beam, the sail billowing below their bare feet. He was impressed that she employed many of the defensive moves he'd just taught her and he couldn't help stopping himself from commenting every now and again.

Back down on the deck, things started getting dirty. With the setting sun turning everything around them hues of red and orange, it was as if they were dancing on fire and she was using the light to her advantage, blinding him. The wood below them was littered with sword holes and gashes from lunges that missed.

And now, she came in with one her more advanced attacks and he recognized it instantly. It was a Hawkeye Mihawk specialty and she used her speed to her benefit, moving faster than he could physically track, but he was ready for her. She brought her sword up and down, using her body weight as leverage and he countered, locking her blade between his two. She was baring down on him, making it harder for him to move. His brain analyzed the situation, checking for weaknesses and holes in her guard. Infallible. Just as he knew it would be. But he was bigger…

While his brain did some swearing and cursing, he realized that the position had them skin-to-skin, hip to shoulder practically. Her soft curves pressed right against his chest, her faces inches from his. Chests heaving, breathing harsh, there was a full second of staring. Her golden eyes danced, her cheeks were flushed from exertion. He could see in her expression that she was NOT going to yield. And neither was he, so there was another heartbeat of bodies pressed together.

Zoro became instantly aware of the fact that this was the first time he'd ever been pressed against a woman for more than the reaction time it took for him to push them off. His skin came alive, his nerve endings shooting through the roof at the contact of sweat-slicked skin. All the hair on the back of his neck stood up as two things became apparent; he didn't mind it and it scared the fuck out of him.

Adrenaline spiked and he was able to use his strength to push her off him, twisting and ducking as her swords came down, his arm narrowly missing the sharp edge of her rapier. Once he was a few feet away from her, his head cleared and he didn't feel like he was suffocating so much. What was it about her that seemed to undo his calm resolution?

Tikka was still reeling from the just a moment before. As they'd stubbornly pushed against each other, resisting moving, she'd beoame suddenly aware of his body against hers. She could feel every ridge of his abs, the hard lines of his hips. Their skin was slick with sweat, and it made the friction between scintillating.

Her blood pressure spiked, her breath hitched, and heat flushed through her. Wow, she reacted to him like lightning. This...was exciting. She'd gotten the sex talk from Loo when she'd gotten her first period. He'd been so red in the face, and she'd been more amused by that to be worried about being embarrassed.

And since she never got to see ANYONE except Loo, who was basically her Aunt, and her father, she didn't really get much experience with men. Except Shanks. She had a big crush on Shanks, but he was way old.

Shanks was the reason she knew she had good things to look forward to womanhood. That is, if she ever escaped her father's protective cage.

So to feel this rush, this sudden yearning for Zoro's fabulously body, she wasn't surprised by it, but she was a tad shocked by how powerful it was.

So when he finally got the upper hand, she was a tad relieved. The feeling was a little overwhelming, even if she was already looking forward to their next battle.

"Alright...I throw in the towel...I'm tired, and I need to go for a swim," she finally said, joining her swords and sheathing them in a smooth movement. Her face was still red, and she was desperately hoping she'd managed to restrained her expression with the feeling of his heaving body against hers, and turned away towards the ocean.

"Oh…" she half turned, looking at him over her shoulder, with her white curls spilling around her face, now freed from her tie. "Thanks for training with me. I really learned a lot." With that, she winked, shimmied out of her pants, kicked off her boots, and dove off the side of the boat and into the calm water.

* * *

><p>AN- Please review! I hope you're enjoying it :) Tikka is a pleasure to play


	5. 5 Olympia! Party of Pirate Independence!

He had another day to stew over his bodily reactions to her. He didn't' know what to think about it. He felt begrudgingly betrayed by his psyche. The only romance in his life was his love of the sword…

Where the hell did that come from? Romance? No. This was some silly… thing. He was just attracted to her swordplay. She was damned good and it wasn't often he came across someone of his skill caliber, let alone a female. He liked to fight her. It added excitement to his dull pirating life. Well, as dull as being a Strawhat Pirate gets...

The fact that she was… a pretty girl, was just an added distraction for him. He needed no distractions. He would not be distracted…

From his position in the Crow's Nest, he glanced down to see her laying on the deck in her bikini, tanning, reading something, her foot bouncing to some unheard rhythm. He made a face and leaned back against the mast pole. Alright. He was mildly distracted by her. It was the red bathing suit; he was helpless to it.

He didn't know the first thing about women. What he knew he gathered from his travels and at that, he'd overheard most of it. The fairer sex was another obstacle that stood between him and his goal. He… didn't have time for them.

Zoro glanced up and realized that he was actually looking at something out at sea. A form was appearing, at first faint, but getting larger. Unmistakably land.

"Hey," he called to her, "Land. Is that where we're supposed to be?" he pointed, indicating the steadily growing island dead ahead.

Within minutes, they spotted a stream that led inland. He jumped down from his lookout spot and steered the ship into it. His eyes jumped all around, taking in the scenery. It seemed like a typical temperate climate island. They weren't greeted by any enraged natives or pirates of deadly intent. In fact, it was simply the silence of nature that surrounded them…. or…

"Do you hear that?" he asked her, tuning his ears to a distant sound like… thunder? There wasn't a cloud in the sky, though, on the Grand Line, stranger things occurred, "What is that?" above the tree line, he spotted something lifting up into the sky. Lots of things. He grabbed the binoculars and scoped it out. Balloons. Thousands of balloons.

"Balloons," he voiced aloud, the supposed thunder now making sense, "A celebration?" he navigated the ship further down the inlet until it opened up to a harbor and docks, invisible from the shoreline. Ships littered the marina, anchored. On the shore was an archway with a town sign "Olympia". Looks like they had made it. The sound of music and cheers filled the air, becoming louder and clearer as they docked and dropped anchor.

Tikka had been enjoying the day before they'd stumbled on the island, reading a book she'd found on the ship. She loved tanning, and this was better than last time, when she'd been topless and Zoro had stumbled out to find her. She'd thought he was dead asleep!

So now she tanned with her top on, which was weird to her when Loo never cared, because he was gay and no one knew where the island was. But since she figured things were already a little awkward with them, she'd at least where a bikini top.

Her thoughts were distracted when what sounded like a dull roar of a cheer wafted through the air. As they were heading into the inlet, she sat up and looked about.

Zoro yelled something about balloons, and Tikka sat up with a curious smile. She put the book away and went to investigate, and found beautiful red balloons rising up into the sky over a village. As they got closer, she sat that they had beautiful garlands strung up everywhere, and people where milling about in colorful clothing and smiling. She glanced up at their flag, which was nothing, because they'd refused to fly another pirate's skull, and realized with a grin that they could pass as civilians.

If no one knew about the bounty of Zoro's head.

But she didn't see any marines...so there was a chance.

"Zoro! It's like a giant party! Let's not tell anyone we're pirates for now and go investigate to see if we can just relax for a bit! We need to get supplies anyways, so we might as well enjoy it, right?" She half turned, grinning up at him with a sassy tilt to her hip.

"Hey!" she whirled around to face him completely, her grin getting even bigger. "I'll buy you a drink!" she proposed, waggling her eyebrow at him suggestively with a small laugh.

Zoro supposed that they didn't have much of a choice. They needed to find a regular log pose if they had any hope of relocating Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats. He could stand a party… alright, he'd admit that he had a weak spot for a good celebration.

He secured the ship and followed Tikka down the rope ladder and onto the pier. It look like the town started with one main drag, but he could see other roads that branched off. From the sounds of it, the main event was up ahead, probably in the town square. Music came from every direction and people were dressed up in a variety of colored outfits. Vendors were stocked, with their doors wide open to invite in customers and the nice weather. He watched Tikka out of the corner of his eye as she looked just about ready to jump out of her skin. At least now he could look at her now… that morning when he'd woken up and walked out on the deck, he'd stumbled on her tanning… topless.

He didn't know what had been worse; the fact that he'd been unable to speak straight to her or the fact that she was completely shameless about it. He mumbled something about going to make something to eat and when he'd come back out, she was blessedly covered.

"Well! Hello there, little lady!"

Zoro turned his head to see that a clothing vendor outside his store was trying to garner Tikka's attention, "You look like you could use a lovely new dress for the evening's celebrations!"

"What's the celebration, exactly?" Zoro asked.

"Oh! It's our Independence Day! A holiday to commemorate the day our little town became free of pirate rule! It's been three years!" the old man nodded and gestured into the store, "Come, beautiful," he spoke to Tikka again, "Let's have a look at the selection!"

Zoro followed them inside. Independence Day to celebrate escaping pirate rule? It was a damn good thing that he and Tikka had taken down that heinous Blue Lagoon jolly roger flag then. He didn't think that this town would be receptive to the knowledge that he was a pirate, sailing in a stolen pirate ship.

Tikka blinked. Freedom from pirates? They probably hadn't been too nice of pirates if they're celebrating their departure like this. She glanced over to the balloons rising from the center of town and a ghost of a smile flittered over her lips.

This was going to be fun!

She followed the shop keeper into the store because she'd never owned a dress, not really. Her father had bought them for her as a child and she'd refused to wear them, but now, as an adult, the thought intrigued her.

There were more colors than on the rainbow when she entered the store, and her breath left her lungs in a whoosh. Her eyes widened and sparkled with excitement.

"Mighty pretty eyes you have there, lady," the store keeper commented with a gentle smile as he lead her over to where some dresses were hanging from a wooden rack. "They look like hawk eyes."

She tensed, waiting for the man to call her out on who her father was, but he continued on as if that was nothing significant, a genuine smile on his face. Maybe he wasn't familiar with her father's face.

She glanced at Zoro, to see if he was as tense as her about her eyes, but the shopkeeper made a sound of triumph and started pulling a dress out from behind two others. "Aha! This is the dress for you, I am sure of it! I have a great eye for dresses and pretty ladies," he told her with a wink and held out the gown. Despite his words, he didn't seem like a dirty old man to her, not that it mattered because the moment her eyes landed on the dress, her brain went blank.

It was...perfect. The dress was a combination of reds and golds, a shimmering silken material that took her breath away and was as soft as feathers. The bodice was of a different material, once which will hug her curves. The skirt had layers of different colors of shimmering material, and the whole thing was just ethereal.

And totally her colors.

"Oh my…" She murmured, stepping closer and holding the material in her hands. "It's so...beautiful…"

"Try it on! Come, come," the shop owner hustled her towards a curtained stall in the back. She resisted, but the man was persistent and in the end she decided to try it on, even if she could never afford it.

Then again, they did have all of that pirate booty…

Within moments, she'd reemerged and it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever worn. Her breasts spilled out over the top, but a gauze material that went around both her shoulders and the top of her breasts, giving her cleavage a mystifying allure. Her waist looked tiny, and her curves were accentuated by the skirt.

"Oh, man...Zoro...what do you think? Should I use my portion of the booty to get this?" She asked, her eyes shinning, her hair falling around her in waves. Her cheeks were rosy with excitement, her hands clasped together in consideration.

The shopkeeping glanced at Zoro when she said his name, but made no comment.

Zoro wasn't looking. He couldn't help but stare at the ceiling in abject boredom. Great. Dress shopping. He avoided this like the plague with the girls usually and only when he needed money from Nami did he tolerate accompanying her on these silly things. But Tikka looked like she'd never stepped foot in a clothing boutique in her life, which he supposed might be a very real possibility. Just watching the look of awe and intrigue that had spread over her face was fascinating. Her golden eyes lit up as she tried to take in the whole atmosphere. As the shopkeeper dragged her over to a rack to show her the merchandise, Zoro had parked his ass on the cushions in front of the dressing room, settling in for an afternoon of clothes shopping. If he had to wager, this might take a few hours, at least.

Within the first few minutes, Tikka had a dress in her hand and was coerced into a dressing room to try it on. He laid his head against the back of the couch and waited, wholly not invested in this.

"Oh… man…. Zoro, what do you think?" he heard the curtain draw back and her light footfalls as she came out and most likely did the twirl and observe.

"Looks nice…" he started, the words on the tip of his tongue as his auto-pilot reply before he lifted his head for the cursory look. And blinked and sat up straighter to get a better look.

The color of the gown was reds and golds like a phoenix and he was finding that he hated and loved that color on her. Red suited her so well for some reason and yet, he couldn't stop looking at her when she would strut around in red, like that sinful bathing suit. He wanted to burn that bathing suit…

It hugged her down to her hips, giving her a banging figure to display and below that was some shimmery material that when she spun around and caught the light, he could almost see right through it to the silhouette of her long legs. And she had a whole lot of breast spilling over the top, accentuated by her snowy ringlets.

"Looks nice…" he tried again, unaware of how intensely he was eyeballing her, "I brought some of the gold with me if you want it," ah, fuck. He was severely underdressed if she was going to wear that around town.

Tikka was still staring back at him. She was floored by the way his eyes went as round as saucers when he finally looked at her. He looked stunned, surprised, and it made her blush deeper as she glanced down at herself, wondering if that was a good or bad thing.

Considering the way her stomach gave a silly little flip and warmth flushed through her, she was guessing...good.

She beamed, bouncing up and down a little before she hurried towards him, leaning down over him-indadvertedly putting her boobs right in his face-and wrestled the money pouch free from his belt with her quick little fingers.

She pulled back with a sneaky grin and winked, saying under her breath, "I love it when other pirates buy me things. I'll have to send the Blue Lagoon Captain a thank you note."

She chuckled at her own comment and then hurried over to the shopkeeper to begin the haggle.

Fifteen minutes later, they were strolling out of the dress shop with her clothes shoved into her satchel, which she'd graciously allowed Zoro to hold for her.

She grinned up at him and took a step closer as they walked side by side into town. "Isn't this exciting? I've never been to any kind of festival other than the kind that Shank's throws...and those are just very drunk."

As they walked down the cobbled street leading to the center of town, vendors started to appear on the side of the streets, and more and more people, dressed in colorful festival clothing, strolled past them. Many of them were arm in arm, laughing or chatting happily. Some were even skipping to the tune that was playing in the distance, in what looked like the town square at the end of the road.

She glanced at Zoro from her peripheral, then a wicked gleam brightened her gold eyes. She took ANOTHER step towards him, their hips almost brushing, and slide her arm through his to mimic the way the other ladies walked with their gentlemen. "Just trying to blend in," she told him assuredly, but her eyes were dancing with excitement and devious pleasure.

Zoro was still reeling from back in the shop. He hadn't had a chance to hand her the pouch of gold before she was practically in his lap, detangling it from his belt. His whole body had gone rigid and his first reaction had been to shut his eyes at the vision he suddenly had. The bodice of her breast was level with his peepers and he had one hell of a shot of her full cleavage and it was one hell of a sight.

She was gone to the shopkeeper just that fast and he sat still for a full heartbeat. Then another. He couldn't digest what just happened. He felt like his whole being just shut down for that brief second; his lungs seized and his heart stopped and his body froze. Then, everything picked up again, fast and panicked. His heart raced, his lungs spasmed and he sank into the couch cushions like he'd been turned to jelly. What the hell did she do to him?

Working him over with her feminine wiles. That was exactly what she was doing to him. And he would have none of it.

They left the store and somehow, he found himself carrying her shoulder satchel, which wouldn't normally be a problem because he had one too. A black one. On Luffy's boat. But this one was hers… and it was… girly…

But god forbid. It didn't match her dress.

As they headed through the town, the sun setting behind them cast everything in a hue of reds and golds. He was helpless to not notice the way the colors reflected off her hair, turning her into some fiery goddess bathed in crimson and ochre. He found himself hyper aware of her now because of what she did to him in the store, hell, what she'd been doing to him since they got tossed from the Thousand Sunny. She was unwinding his tight resolve and it frustrated him. And freaked him out. He mentally disliked that he was irrevocably drawn to her because of her fantastic sword skills, but now she was just fucking with him. But what he really disliked about this was that he was starting to like the way she made him feel. And he didn't understand it. He was Roronoa Zoro. Master swordsman and impervious to females because he just… frankly didn't care.

Except this one. He… begrudgingly enjoyed her company. He'd allow that.

He was instantly alert the moment she stepped closer to him and when she hooked her arm through his, his back went ramrod straight and he eyed her tiny hand wrapped around his bicep.

"Just trying to blend in," she winked at him, her expression devious, her whole composure relaxed, like this was completely natural.

No no. Totally unnatural. Devious woman. It was like she knew he was internally flustered by her and she was just trying to provoke him. Damn it. Two could play at that game.

Except he didn't really know how. Damn her! Tikka: 1. Zoro: Zip.

The town square was nothing short of spectacular. His internal frustration was completely forgotten as his eyebrows went up in approval and he surveyed the place. Unawares to him, his composure relaxed, no longer looking like he was about to bolt. Lanterns were strung up and the fountain in the center was lit with floating candles. Colorful banners flew, vendors ringed the square and a live band played music. Around them, the people danced and twirled, people shopped and clapped and made general fantastic merriment. Children used colored chalk to decorate the dancing space, their little hands and faces covered with chalk dust.

This… was a party.

* * *

><p>As soon as the young lady purchased her dress and she left with her male companion, the shopkeeper set the gold away, made some last minute cleaning up to close his shop early and glanced up the street quickly. They were out of sight. He headed behind the register and pulled his den den mushi.<p>

As he waited for the thing to connect, his eyes fell to the line of wanted posters hiding behind the cash and wrap. He had seen many years, many of them under the dictatorship of terrible pirates. He wasn't sure when he started collecting the wanted posters, but he did and kept them as a reminder. Never again would he fall victim to such tyranny again. Every person who walked through his doors was a customer first, and he was first a salesman, but he liked to think that he was taking proactive steps to make sure that pirates never walked through his doors. Ever again.

He recognized the man instantly with his green skull trim and three swords. But he had not wanted to make any quick assumptions. They seemed amiable enough, especially the young woman. But when she'd said his name "Zoro", the old man knew that this moss-haired man was a pirate. His wanted poster hung weathered and torn behind the register. 180 million berry bounty. He was a member of the Straw Hats, a notorious band of nasty pirates led by Monkey D. Luffy. While he hadn't seen any of the other members of the crew, there was no doubt that Roronoa Zoro walked through his shop.

"Hello. Marine Headquarters."

"Hello, this is Castor Mario in Olympia. Roronoa Zoro just walked through my shop," the old man greeted.

There was silence on the other end, "I'll transfer you to the Commander."

More silence. Then a click and another voice, deeper, more menacing, "This is Commander Dredel."

"Hello, Commander. This is Castor Mario from Olympia. Roronoa Zoro just walked through my shop. He was accompanied by a young woman with snowy curls and golden hawk-like eyes."

A grunt of intrigue, "Zoro, huh? Any other Straw Hats?"

"No. Just the woman."

"Hmmm… I don't know her. Hawk eyes, you said? She'd not a Straw Hat. Well then. Hold Zoro there. I will send a regiment of ships to capture him." the Commander told him.

"There is a celebration this evening. I'm sure he will stay until tomorrow, Commander."

"Good. We will be there to pick him up for you. We appreciate the call, Mario."

Something about this Commander's voice resonated badly with the old man. Something… violent about him. The old shopkeeper instantly regretted the call. The pirates hadn't seemed aggressive. Maybe they would just come and go and not cause trouble. And yet, he couldn't be sure. What if tomorrow came and those two were joined by the rest of the Straw Hats? Mario couldn't risk utter pandemonium again.

* * *

><p>Everything that she encountered was better than the thing before. More and more marvels unfolded as they finally approached the square, then emerged to find dancing, chalk drawing, vendors, laughing, and streamers. It was...a dream. So beautiful and amazing.<p>

"This is amazing Zoro!" She whispered excitedly, her fingers digging into his biceps a little as she practically vibrated with energy. Her dress swirled around her legs in elegant ripples, and her hair fell over her bare shoulders as she shook it out.

"Welcome, visitors! You are welcome to share our celebration this fine day!" A man called from nearby, a gentleman with a coat over his shoulders. He saluted them with a large mug of beer, grinned, and took a swing, then put the tankard down to grab up a lady in dance.

"Come, dance! Be merry!" He called again, and from the way people tipped their hats at him, she suspected he was the mayor. Tikka just couldn't resist an offer like that.

She gave Zoro a friendly squeeze, then hurried away from him to join the many dancers all performing a kind of circle dance. It didn't take her long to figure it out, and soon she was moving with ease, dancing with passionate abandon and pure glee.

She was a gymnast and an acrobat, just like her mother, so her body moved in sensuous, smooth undulations, enhanced by the way her dress moved with her, and her snowy girls bounced around her shoulders.

Soon the dance broke into partners, and she whirled around, her eyes searching for a partner, but a man approached her from behind, a tall handsome fellow with a white shirt, black leather pants, and easy smile brightening his olive-skinned features. "What a beautiful day, and beautiful lady," he complimented her as he swept her into the first step of the partner dance, whirling around in easy, fun circles.

A smile light her features as her heart raced from the fun. "Thank you! This is a lovely celebration," she said in return.

The man laughed and nodded in agreement, and then the music changed, and partners were exchanged. The man tipped his hat, wished her well, and took up his next partner. Tikka's heart was soaring with happiness and excitement. This was so much fun!

Meanwhile, Zoro watched from the sidelines. Tikka had bounded off to join the dancing circle, and he couldn't help but notice that she'd picked up the steps like a natural. The slightly drunkard gentleman who greeted them held out a pint of beer for Zoro.

"Drink with me! I need a companion," he offered.

The problem with alcohol… Zoro loved it about as much as Luffy loved meat. Not much of a dancer, he took up the man's offer and shared the pint with him. All the while, his eyes searched out Tikka in the dance. She was a pro, dancing as perfectly as she played with swords. The smile on her face lit her up as she laughed and swung around, learning fast, her eyes sparkling, her dress swishing around her legs elegantly. It was mesmerizing to watch.

The music changed and so did the circle, breaking into partners. Dancers started plucking people out of the crowd and Zoro's heart dropped out of his stomach when a gaggle of girls darted over to the outdoor bar and started pulling men away.

"Come dance!" one girl gestured to him. Zoro held up his hand in a "no thanks" way but before he could further protest, his drinking companion grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the dancing crowd and right into the waiting girl.

"Dance, young man! It's good for your spirit!" he reasoned, laughing as he was twirled away in drunken bliss.

Dammit.

"I don't dance, really…" Zoro tried to explain, but his female dancing partner heard none of it, laughing and yanking him around in the steps.

Normally, he would have just...pulled out and left. But Tikka had glanced at him with a smile, and balking out now seemed...cowardly. That's right, Zoro never backed down...this challenge would be met like any opponent.

He surprised himself, learning the steps fast, the music washing over him, the beat like a strong heartbeat and easy to follow. It was no harder than fighting. The rhythm changed and he was tossed to another girl, twirling her in circles. The music changed again and again, he found himself with a new partner. Then another, and another. His expression relaxed and he found that he was actually enjoying himself, his heart racing from the aerobics of it, his adrenaline spiking. It was the type of feeling that he lived for. It was just like sword fighting, really, just without the swords. Duh.

Automatically, his eyes sought out for a flash of red and gold, but she was lost among the crowd of dancers.

The music changed again and people moved back into that circle dance and he had to learn the steps again quickly. He caught Tikka across the circle, a splash of red and gold in the twilight, her cheeks flushed, her face spilt into a laugh as she danced, her curls bouncing around her face, kicking her bare feet up – because boots would have ruined her outfit – and felt his stomach tighten at the sight of her. What was that? Butterflies? That was new. He had butterflies for nothing.

Back to partner dances. Girl after girl had their thirty seconds with him, young girls, old ladies, little children. He spun around to catch the next girl coming his way and suddenly, he found himself face to face with Tikka, his hand at her waist, his other capturing hers, her body flush with his. His nerves shot up, his heart skipped a beat. Damn her, she flustered him without even trying.

As Tikka found herself dancing with Zoro, she was surprised by two things: a) he was dancing in the first place and b) he was actually dancing pretty well. The feel of his hands, calloused from years of sword play, in her hand and on her waist was thrilling, and her blood warmed with excitement as butterflies brushed the inside of her stomach.

Her eyes were dancing, molten gold with happiness, and then their time was up, and she was spun back into the crowd. The music picked up the pace, and the dance became more frantic, people laughing as they scrambled to keep up, banners flying out,

At some point, someone had dropped a circlet with ribbons tied to it over her white curls, and blue and white ribbons streams through her hair.

She was passed off to her next partner, spinning so fast that her vision didn't adjust before she was flush with her partner, and her eyes widened to finger herself pressed close to Zoro once more, her vibrating body highly attune to his in an instant and her breath catching.

Her eyes flickered to his lips, then quickly away, her heart flipping in her chest.

She blushed, her nose wrinkling the freckles on her nose as she pulled back, letting out a laugh to try and break the tension between them. "Zoro, let's go to the bars and have some drinks...and food! I'm starving!" She announced, trying to wave away her blush as she fanned herself and swayed with the sound of the next song that was slowly starting up.

Zoro stared, still trying to catch up. His first dance with her ended shortly, only to be spun back to her after only a brief, though hectic, interval. At some point between their break, someone had dropped a crown of ribbons on her head, the blue and white streamers weaving with her curls. The overall effect was… pretty and carefree.

He was about to say something to her, maybe along the lines of "are you having fun?" or something conversational when he caught her gaze flickering from his eyes to his mouth then away and she immediately exclaimed of hunger and a desire to go to the bars, leaving his mind in the dust as he tried to stop and contemplate what just happened.

He couldn't. He was already on overload.

"Yeah, food sounds good," he agreed, mentally telling himself to knock it off. It was natural to go to a bar and eat with one of his nakama. And dancing, too, sometimes. He shouldn't be so...riled up.

Together they headed over to the local bar. They ordered something to eat and it wasn't long after that that the place started to fill up with people filing in from the town square, exhausted and thrumming from dancing and demanding drinks. The bartender has his hands filled trying to serve everyone in the establishment. Barmaids raced around with pitchers and pints of beer and the volume in the place began to escalate to an almost unbearable decibel until people had to yell to be heard and thus, people talked over each other.

Once their meal was cleared away, the barmaids started bringing over drink after drink for them. Zoro had his usual sake and after Tikka hemmed and hawed over something to have, he ordered her a shot of the rice grain alcohol. And when she took it like a man and proceeded to gasp and sputter at it, he couldn't help but laugh at her and lifted his hand to summon the barmaid again.

"Too strong for you? You need something else then…" he ordered her a vodka tonic. Again, she spit that one out too and fanned her mouth. He found her entertaining and wickedly kept ordering her the harshest alcohol he could think of, from vodka to whiskey sour to tequila and then finally after seeing her red face, broke down and got her a rum and cola.

"If you don't like rum, you aren't a true pirate," he told her. He lost count of how many times his glass had been refilled with sake, but it didn't much matter. He held his liquor like a bull. His metabolism rivaled the sun's energy.

Tikka felt like the festivities in the bar had begun innocently enough. She was pumped for her first drunken celebration, and since Loo didn't drink and Mihawk didn't really bring liquor on his visits, she'd never really gotten drunk before. Her only experience had been with Shanks, and Mihawk had nearly skinned him alive for it.

Thankfully, she hadn't had too much, only a beer, before Mihawk found them and rung Shanks up by his pants on the coconut tree.

So she'd been excited for her first real drink, and she'd taken it like everyone else took their shots.

But the taste...was way worse than she'd expected.

But then...Zoro, seemingly happy to help her find an alternative to the sake, ordered her something else. And then another alternative to that.

"Does all alcohol taste so bad? Why the hell do so many people like it?" She demanded as she pushed back the shot glass that had contained tequila….she shuddered.

Her vision went a little weird as she turned to accept this next glass from the barmaid, and she paused, holding the glass still, until the world stopped moving again. It was only a split second, but it was..weird.

"Woah...I think…" she paused, shook her head, then finally took a sip of this dark looking drink. Instantly she wrinkled her nose as bubbles danced over the surface of the liquid. It was sweet this time, delicious.

"Wow, this is amazing! Zoro, have you had these? What did she call it? Rum and cola? I love rum…" she muttered as she peered into the glass, starting to sway in the seat without even realizing it. Her small frame was just that...tiny. It didn't take long for her alcohol to catch up with her.

"I could drink this all the time! Does Sanji make drinks as well as food?" she looked back up at Zoro, the suddenly leaned forward on the table between them, drink in hand, and stared up at him with a semi-serious expression. The motion put herself half draped over the table, which pushed her breasts up even more in her already revealing dress. Her cheeks were rosy, as were her lips now, moist from the drink.

Her eyes were dilated, and the molten gold of her irises darkened with inebriation.

"Zoro," she said, her tone as serious as possible to match her expression, though a smile was tugging at her red lips. "When we get the crew back together, can we have a huge party and convince Sanji to make these delicious drinks for us?" She lifted the cup and took another sip, putting the mug down, leaving a droplet of cola tangling from her full lower lip an instant before her small pink tongue darted out to catch it. She grinned at him, her eyes glittering with appreciation as she observed him sitting so casually across from her.

In reaction, he just stared. Zoro rather liked her drunk. She might not know that she was, but he could tell when she swayed in her seat and stopped suddenly in mid speech with wild, unfocused eyes like she was trying to regain her balance in a world that was spinning all her own. She drank her rum down like she was a dying man in a desert and he ordered her another one. She accepted it graciously and sucked the straw innocently, watching him as he watched her with a smirk on his face.

He might have a crazy high tolerance of liquor, but he was starting to feel the warm buzz in the back of his head that came from consuming it. He also knew that he could ride that buzz for a loooooong time before he was truly hammered in the "I don't remember a single thing from that night" kind of sloshed.

The buzz always made him more aggressive, which was a trait he usually stuffed down under control. But a little sake and he let it loose.

"Sanji makes all sorts of delicious drinks," he told her, unable to keep his eyes on her face for long and darted his gaze down to the top of her dress where her luscious breasts were spilling out. He brought his eyes back to her face, "He makes blue drinks and purple drinks. Though the girly drinks are normally just for the girls. We party all the time." Which was the complete and utter truth. And every time, he had to fish Luffy out of the water and drink Nami under the table, "It's great fun."

He nodded at the barmaid and she came over to fill his glass again and gave Tikka yet another rum and cola. Fuck, she was going to be so drunk.

"Omigod! Tikka!"

A couple of girls rushed their table, clearly girls she'd become friendly with during the dance. They waggled their fingers at Zoro and he simply raised a noncommittal brow at them and they started chattering at Tikka.

"Omigod, girl! The band is coming in! You have to dance with us!" just then, the double saloon doors opened and the live band from out in the square came in and set up their instruments in the corner, "Come ON!" they yanked her from her chair and dragged her across the floor.

* * *

><p>As the delicious drinks get coming, Tikka felt like she was in heaven. Her head was buzzing and her body was pleasantly floating. She was staring at Zoro with wide and amazed eyes as he described the drinks and partying that took place on the Pirate ship, and felt the excitement infecting her blood. She couldn't WAIT to be back on the ship so she could demand delicious and pretty drinks from Sanji.<p>

She was about to say something like that to Zoro when her name was called out and she was interrupted in her thoughts. She turned to see a bunch of girls she'd danced with rush her, yelling about something her brain was too sloshed to pick up on. It wasn't until the band marched in through the doors that she picked up on what they were talking about.

Clearly, they were going to dance.

Her eyes lit with excitement and she broke from their grip to hurry back to the table to grab up her drink and toss it back like a true pirate, her long curls bouncing around her shoulders from the movement. Once all of the delicious elixir was in her mouth, she dropped back down, unintentionally leaning provocatively over the chair in Zoro's direction, and pushed her glass across the table towards him.

"Zoro, my master, I'm going to go dance," she announced, her voice slurring a tad, and smiled warmly at him. "If you want to join, please don't hesitate. You're more than welcome, after the dance moves you showed off earlier."

She couldn't help it; drinking made her a flirt. It's not like she could have known that before though. So really, her drunken mind blamed it all on Zoro getting her drunk. She winked at him, her eyes molten with admiration as her gaze flickered over his relaxed formed, and her cheeks heated while her eyes danced wickedly.

Then, she abruptly turned away from him, swished her skirt in a departure salute, and marched back to where the other girls were giggling and falling over themselves as they prepared to dance.

Her movements, despite her clearly being drunk off her rocker, were still far steadier than any of them, attesting to her years of honing her skills in balance and acrobatics. As a result, all of the girls were awestruck when the music started up and she was dancing with almost perfect stability. Almost. The others, however, kept giggling and collapsing into chairs.

She found a friend, though, in one girl name Lula, who clearly knew how to hold her liquor. She hooked arms with Tikka, and soon both of them were sining at the top of their lungs as they drunkenly danced first on the dance floor, and then climbed up onto the tables, much to the roaring pleasure of the crowd. People were cheering them on with mugs of ale and wine, laughing each time Tikka or Lula fell over and had to start over, laughing right along with them.

Zoro watched, and gripped his sake mug harder. He was still kinda mulling over before, when he hadn't been drunk enough to flirt back with her, because, let's face it, Zoro was not a flirt by any sense of the word. He also wasn't drunk enough to not have a reaction to her antics, but just drunk enough to not worry about them too much.

His stomach tightened and his blood pressure spiked when she sucked down the rest of her cola and rum like a pro and braced her arms on the table to lean over to him. The action had her face almost uncomfortably close to his whether she realized it or not and he had to tip his head back to give himself a little breathing space. It also pushed her breasts up again until they threatened to spill over the top of her dress like ten pounds worth of potatoes in a five pound sack.

It was an act of god to keep his eyes glued to her face while she told him that it was okay if he wanted to join her dancing. Her eyes burned over him and he mustered all his self-control to keep a pokerface.

"I'm not drunk enough for that," he told her with a smirk, "But you have fun," he was so carrying her home as he watched her join the clique of girls. Her composure was shockingly sure and her chin was high.

As the band started playing, it became apparent that the alcohol was starting to hit her hard. She hooked up with one girl and they started dancing on tables, jumping from one table to the other, stumbling and laughing and singing at the top of their lungs. It was terrible and hilarious. Zoro dropped his head in his hand and watched her through slit fingers, feeling wholly embarrassed for her. The whole bar found her priceless, laughing and rewarding her and this other lady with beer by the pint which they took graciously.

She was turning into a hot mess.

The hour grew later and later and she kept up the pace, her face flushed, her eyes wicked and sparkling. He could feel the heat of his sake getting to him. Every now and then, she'd point at him and demanded him to join her, to which he shook his head and she forgot about it after a minute anyway. It was when she fell off the table and her dress hiked around her mid thigh that someone finally laughed, "put her to bed!"

Zoro got up from his chair, paid the bartender with some of Tikka's plunder and hauled her to her feet by her elbow, "It's time to go now. Say goodbye."

"There are a few rooms above the bar here that you can stay in," the bartender and clearly owner offered, glancing at the drunken girl, "They are reserved for those that pass out here. I think she qualifies."

"Thanks," Zoro replied, "Come on, Tikka."

Her mind was very hazy, and she didn't feel that great, but she was still having fun, so when she'd fallen over she couldn't help but laugh. Someone mentioned that it was time for her to go home, and she sat up with a venomous glare in that direction.

So much so that the guy shut up and looked away, then back at her with a confused frown to find that her glare had already dissolved into an easy smile as she almost slid back down to the ground to go to bed, but then someone hauled her up to her bare feet.

She stood unsteadily, and spun around to find Zoro, clearly no where near as drunk as her, holding her up.

"Oh. Hi Zoro," she commented. "What are-" He interrupted her by saying, "It's time to go now. Say goodbye."

Her eyes narrowed. That sounded eerily the way her father or Loo sounded when he was being rambunctious as a child and they were putting her to bed to shut her up.

How dare he treat her like a child! She was just having fun…

He was having a conversation with someone, but she didn't hear it. Her mind took all it's energy just to think about what he'd said to her, let alone carry on listening to their conversation. So in the next minute, he started leading her towards the stairs leading up to the rooms, and she shot him another glare, yanked her arm out of his grip, and crossed her arms over her chest. She wobbled unsteadily for a moment, then caught herself.

"I can do it myself, thank you," she told him with a haughty tone, which in her drunken state really sounded more adorable than anything. She then proceeded to march away from him and up the stairs. It took her a whole five minutes to figure out that there was only one room left open, and so she turned around to face Zoro, hands at her hips and her legs spread for balance, and said, "I will sleep on the ground, and you can have the bed. We're both adults," she added with an imperial nod, then stumbled into the room with a giggle.

She gave a cursory glance around the room, then fell to her knees and then curled up right in the middle of the room. Within seconds, she was asleep.

Zoro stared down at her, considering the way she'd just acted in the past few moments. She gave him tons of attitude which had had him rolling his eyes at her and shaking his head. She was clearly too drunk to realize how childish she sounded.

She then ripped her arm out of his grip and proceeded to walk up the stairs without assistance, albeit leaning heavily on the wall for support. One moment, she was whipping around to pin him with a venomous glare then erupting into giggles. She marched into the free room and promptly fell to the floor and decided that this as a good place to sleep because she was out in seconds, passed out cold.

Zoro stared at her for a whole minute, utterly confused by her. She was interesting… he wondered if this was all the sass she had buried inside when she was straight. In such case, he didn't want to provoke her.

He picked her up off the floor and she was like a wet noodle, completely out and limp. She reeked of rum and the sugary smell of cola. He placed her in the bed and she immediately rolled over into a ball, drawing her legs up to her chest. He set her up with a glass of water next to the bed and grabbed one for himself before settling on the opposite side of the room on the floor, his back against the wall, right next to the window so he could see out. Paranoia was a hard habit to kick, even harder with the bounty on his head. Sure, these people seemed great and no one knew he was a pirate, sailing into the harbor with a blank flag, but still…

His swords next to him on the floor, he tipped his head back and it didn't take long before he was snoozing comfortably, in the only way he could.

* * *

><p>an- I hope you enjoy :) Please review!


	6. 6 Flee! Marines Arrive at Olympia!

Tikka wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but when her eyes peeled back it was still dark in the room and she could still see the faint light of the moon setting in the distance through the tiny window. So it was late...really late.

She felt queasy, but definitely still drunk, so she didn't notice it as much as she sat up and peered into the dark room, shivering. Man, she was cold...and woozy. She swayed, then spotted Zoro, and almost fell out of the bed in surprise when she leaned towards him to see if he was sleeping or not.

He was, leaning against the wall.

Man, that looked way more comfortable and warm.

Letting out a quiet giggle, she crawled out of the bed and over to him, curling up on the floor and pressing close to him for warmth. She smiled and closed her eyes, then nuzzled against his side, and promptly fell back asleep.

But only a few hours later, the light pink rays of the rising sun filtered into the room, and Tikka rose with a wrenching nausea in her gut and a raging headache.

"Oh my sea gods…" she moaned, instinctively turning into the form next to her to bury her face into, striving to keep the light out of her eyes which was giving her a huge headache. Then she realized she was leaning into Zoro, and promptly flopped back into her back, wincing and blinking warily at the ceiling.

A wave of nausea went through her again, and she sat up and then scrambled to her feet as she ran to the window, threw it open, and leaned out to empty her stomach into the back courtyard of the inn.

Thankfully, no one was awake.

Her body shook a little, and she groaned, saying, "I'll never drink again."

Zoro was a dead sleeper when he had a bloodstream full of sake, but he did wake when a muffled groan sounded very close to him. Then, someone had rolled into him and he'd snapped his eyes open only to see Tikka next to him, hiding her face in his shoulder before she laid back down on the floor with an arm draped over her eyes.

Ah, her first hangover.

She turned a lovely shade of green and picked herself up with surprising speed, threw the window open and puked her brains out, her body so far out the window that she was standing on her toes. He got up, stretched his body out and leaned around her as her little frame heaved and grabbed all those white curls and pulled them back behind her.

"You say that now," he told her quietly. He had only dispelled the contents of his stomach once after a night of rambunctious drinking and it was the worse. He vowed to never do it again. Besides, he didn't much like being out of control. Damn good thing he was literally born with a high tolerance.

He braided her curls quick and efficiently to keep them out of the way before going to fetch her something cold to put on her face and a glass of water. When he reappeared, he handed it to her, "Here," he indicated.

Tikka gratefully took the glass he offered, and gulped it down greedily, hoping it will settle her stomach. She was extremely happy for his kindness in pulling her hair back. That had made everything much easier.

She was also surprised he knew how to braid. Kinda weird...

No matter. She...hurt...too much to care. She slid down to the ground, and her head fell back with another groan. She pulled the glass up and took another sip.

"I don't think I'll ever drink again…" she corrected him, and her head fell into her arms, propped up by her knees, and urged her stomach to settle.

Unfortunately, fate didn't want to give her time to mend.

"We're looking for one Roronoa Zoro, reportedly seen here as of yesterday? This is what he looks like, have you see him?" A gruff and loud voice called, and the sound filtered up through the window. Her eyes flashed open, and she stood up quickly to peer out the window, one hand going to her stomach.

"Shit shit shit...Zoro...there are a lot of marines...we have to get out." She ducked down as one marine looked up.

"Yeah, he was staying at the inn with that adorable drunk girl." a voice called from downstairs.

"Dammit." Tikka's head hit the wall with a thud, on purpose. "This is so not happening right now...not NOW…"

She stumbled to her feet, clutching her stomach, and headed for the door.

* * *

><p>She drank the water Zoro offered and sat down on the floor with her arms draped over her knees and her face buried in the crook of her elbow. Her whole body was shaking.<p>

"I don't think I'll ever drink again…" she replied, her voice muffled, and Zoro perked a brow.

He made an amused noise in the back of his throat, but his eyes were riveted out the window. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and down the street, he could see a regiment of marines marching down the main drag. In the distance, he could see their ship flags, whipping violent in the wind. The morning was cloudy and dark. A storm was coming.

In seconds they were in front of the inn, asking for him. No surprises there. He grabbed his swords just as Tikka jumped to her feet and saw them out the window.

"Relax," he told her, "I have a 180 million berry bounty on my head. I have to be good at evading them," or wasting them. But he had a feeling that with Tikka looking green around the gills, fighting might just throw her over the edge, "Come on, let's get out of here."

He took her hand and led her out of the room. Downstairs, he heard the marines' boots hammering around, heading for the stairs. He took out his sword and sliced the stairs up at the top, leaving a gaping hole. He waited for a heartbeat until one marine came to the bottom of the stairs, spotted him and screamed, "Commander! Commander! I see him! He's up here!"

Zoro smiled as a crowd of eager young officers raced up the stairs after him… and promptly fell through the hole he made. Chaos erupted and he used the moment to take Tikka and head down the old servant stairs in the back. It didn't give him much of a head start. By the time he hit the street, the marines were bursting out the front door.

He couldn't stop the smirk on his face at his sprinted down the street, something about running and fighting always got his blood pumping. He had no intention of rotting in hell in Impel Down. Not that he wasn't confident he couldn't beat them, but he couldn't risk Tikka getting hurt in this condition.

"Shoot him!" the Commander shouted, "I want him dead or alive."

Zoro sliced ropes off a pile of hay resting outside a store. The stuff went everywhere, flying into the air, littering the street. They needed to get to the ship. Then they could escape these pesky sons-of-bitches.

Meanwhile, Tikka was struggling to not throw up everywhere as she hurried after Zoro, following his lead from his firm grasp on her arm. She glanced back and ducked suddenly when a bullet went flying past her head.

"This sucks! I just wanted to relax a little after our hardship on the seas," she grumbled under her breath as she ran, her fingers itching to check her sword. Her stomach was threatening to heave all over again, but she pulled it back, quickly checking her weapon, then looking up at Zoro, who clearly didn't like running away but was doing so for her sake.

He gave her the energy she needed to keep up with him.

"Shoot! Shoot them! I want Zoro's head!" The commander was yelling, and Tikka risked looking back.

A marine came out from the a side alley, surprising her, and she missed a step, stumbling. A loud shot rang out, and her body jerked suddenly, shock registering through her body, flaring out to mask any pain.

She stumbled, and crashed to her knees. The jolt knocked the shock out of her head, and the pain from the bullet wound, a shot right through her calf, flooded her senses. A scream split the air, one she cut off abruptly as she sealed her lips and fell to the side, refusing to show weakness.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She never expected a bullet wound to hurt this much.

Zoro let out a chocked gasp. It happened in slow motion. The hay in the air made vision harder, littering the sky like tiny fingers of nature. The sound of the gun echoed eerily in his head and he turned just in time to see a marine barrel out of the alleyway, rifle drawn up. Behind him, Tikka stumbled, her arm ripped from his grip as she automatically pinwheeled to catch her balance.

And the bullet that was aimed for him embedded into her calf, ripping right through it.

She crashed to her knees, and he knew her body instantly slipped into shock as her scream was cut short. She tried to get up, but instead fell to the side. He skidded to a halt and stormed back for her. With inhuman speed, he hauled her up and over his shoulder with one hand and pulled out a second sword with the other hand, two swords in one hand, the blades facing opposite from each other and he spun them fast, bullets ricocheting off the steel.

The gun fire paused while officers reloaded and he turned heel and booked it. He pushed past screaming people who were running for cover.

"Get out of my way!" he growled. Behind him, marine boots hammered against the cobblestone. Overhead, thunder rolled and the sky steadily grew darker. The smell of impending rain filled the air, the electric humidity before a raging monsoon.

"Head him off! Find his ship! Cut him off at the harbor!" the Commander's dark voice rang out. Zoro ducked into an alleyway and behind some boxes. He could see the harbor from his vantage point and saw the marines head into marina and start going through the ships. Their unmarked ship was one of the first ones to be searched. He did a mental check of anything on the ship that would give them away. Nothing. He had the new log pose he traded for the eternal one.

He sat Tikka down, her back propped against the wall and hiked her dress up to her knees to inspect her leg wound. Blood dripped down her leg, coating her foot and she was trembling like mad. He ripped the bottom length of his tank off for a makeshift bandage. He made a quick job of wrapping the wound up tightly so that it would slow the bleeding. There was a first aid kit on the ship that would have real bandages later.

"Stop being a baby," he told her, no real intent behind his voice. Bullet wounds are nasty. He glanced over his shoulder, "We have to wait for them to search the ship before we can sneak onto it," he sheathed one of his swords and picked her up in a piggy back style, her arms hooked around his neck and his free hand hooked gingerly underneath her good leg. He waited and sprinted across the pier and sliced the ropes of another ship, then kicked it, hard. It started floating away. He darted back into the shadows and waited. One of the marines shouted and pointed at the freed ship and they took the bait. Marines swept back. Thunder rolled above him and big fat raindrops began falling from the sky.

With those jackasses fully distracted, Zoro took off down the pier to their ship. On his way, he sliced the ropes of the marines ships and the increased wind did the rest. He made it to their ship and snatched up the rope ladder, "Hold tight, I need my hands," he warned her, dropping her leg, freeing his other hand, and climbed the ladder swiftly, hopping on deck. He placed her against the edge of the boat so she would be protected from any more bullets just in case. He chopped the ropes and the violent storm wind immediately took the ship out. He steered the big boat hard, straining as the wind grabbed the sails. Over the roar of wind and steadily faster rain drops, he head the marines shout again and shots ring out. He ducked, dodging them, but in seconds, they were well into the inlet that first took them into the island, leaving the Commander fired up and pissed off on the pier.

"Take that suckers!" Zoro called manically. He steered the ship out into the open ocean, secured the steering head and jumped down to the deck and grabbed the first aid kit for Tikka.

"How you holding up?" he asked, crouching down next to her. Rain pattered the deck, hard, but not quite a downpour.

Tears continued to brim in Tikka's eyes but she'd managed to suck back most of her crying. She gazed up at Zoro with her jaw grit and her face white. She was trembling, clutching at her leg with her knuckles going white.

"I'm so not a baby," she answered Zoro, her voice coming out strained but her eyes twinkled slightly in humor. After all her training and she gets taken down by a bullet rather than a sword? This sucks. But at least the pain had pretty much cured her hangover, sort of. She shifted, and pain shot up her leg, making her gasp and almost pass out.

She shook her head to clear it, biting her lip so hard it was bleeding. "It hurts," she finally whispered, so low she hoped maybe he wouldn't hear. It wasn't that she couldn't handle the pain, it's just that...it just hurt so much worse than she always imagined.

She looked away from Zoro and slid down until she could lie on her side, curling up and holding her leg to her chest as she fought to control the pain mentally. She knew now that her father and Loo had babied her in their training, and considering most of her attacks were offensive and her acrobatic moves evasive, she'd never really taken a serious hit.

Despite the rain , Zoro could see the tears brimming in her eyes, one leaking out the corner, catching on her lashes and mingling with the rain.

"Yeah, bullets are no picnic, for sure," he told her when she curled up into a ball on the wet deck and pulled her knees up. His chest tightened at the sight of it, wet curls sticking to her pale face, her whole body trembling. He knew the feeling, "Come on," he picked her up again and carried her into the kitchen area where it was lit and warmer. The ship would be alright on its own for just a few minutes.

He sat her down at the table and propped her leg on a chair. Already, the fabric of his tank that he had wrapped around it was bled through. He undid it and threw it away and grabbed the first aid kit and a bottle of vodka.

"Here, you're gonna want something to wring and I'd prefer not my neck. You'll thank me later," he handed her his black bandana, strong material she couldn't rip. He popped open the bottle of vodka and poured it over her wound. He was well aware it stung like nothing she would ever experience in her whole life, but it would kill any infection and clean the wound like a charm.

He dug out some proper bandages and some gauze. He bandaged her up good and tight from her knee to her ankle, his movement sure and confident. He'd dressed more wounds than he cared to count, worst ones at this, though he was not merely as good as Chopper. He remember his eye wound had been pretty nasty, the white of his eye red for weeks. And the ankles… and the long one her father gave him… yeah. He stopped the mental checklist of his wounds right about there.

When he'd picked her up, she's had to grit her teeth even harder, even though he had been gentle. The pain was hot and throbbing, and she whimpered a little before she could stop herself. If only she knew what was coming. He set her down on the table, and began to prepare her wound. He produced the vodka and her stomach tightened in both pain and nausea.

Did he mean for her to drink that for-

Her thought was interrupted when the pain she felt was multiplied by a million as he poured the vodka over her wound. Her head was thrown back from the force of it, and she let out a small cry before she bit down hard on his head scarf, her trembling fingers squeezing the material tight.

Before long, he was done and she was just a mess on the table, shaking too hard to get up easily. She stumbled and reached out to catch herself on Zoro, bringing them flush against one another YET again.

She clutched at his shirt, by his shoulders, to keep herself from falling down as she tried to get her balance on the one leg that didn't kill her to step on. Her head tilted back, and she found herself staring at his face, inches apart. Her cheeks were rosy from the pain, starkly contrasting with her pale white skin. Despite her pain, she was instantly aware of the hardness of his body, steady and stable against her not-so-stable one. Her eyes darkened with awareness as her mind sought any kind of escape from the pain.

Her eyes flickered to his lips again, and a tension, a need, filled her. She trembled for a moment entirely separate from the pain. Was it the whole fiasco and wound making her weak and silly like this? She shouldn't be worried about how amazingly he'd taken care of her, or of how handsome he looked, drenched through.

She tried to push away, feeling foolish, needing to lie down or something before she hurt herself, but her leg refused to carry her weight, still smarting too much from the vodka and firm bandaging.

Zoro was still thinking about how she'd taken the wound dressing like a champ. She didn't even scream too much or anything, though he suspected that she was too far beyond screaming at this point. She needed to sleep some of this off a little.

When she got up to test her leg and promptly fell over, her fingers finding purchase in his shirt, her body came flush with his. Automatically, he grabbed her waist to steady her, her little frame trembling. She glanced up at him and he met her golden eyes and for a brief moment, everything stopped. It was like the moment in the store when he found her breasts in his face; his body stopped functioning for a heartbeat or two. He ceased breathing, his spine straightened.

She did that flicker thing with her eyes again, flipping them down to his mouth and then back up again. He found himself doing the same thing. She had that classic full mouth with the pouty lower lip which had a slice in it from where she bit down so hard that she drew blood. What the hell was he doing, inspecting her mouth? He knew damned well that he wasn't just looking at the cut on it… crazy thoughts were running through his head, like kissing her. Which was wild and outrageous because he was Zoro. He didn't get involved with women, let alone fancy kissing them!

Especially considering she was probably mentally unstable as it is, considering her condition.

But the moment was tense nonetheless and he discovered that he was lingering too long in holding onto her. Man, he was becoming too comfortable with her pressed up against him.

"Let's, uh, get you in bed. Sleep off a little bit of your hangover," he offered. He didn't even bother with letting her use him as a crutch; he simply picked her up and carried her into the room and plopped her on the bed. With a curt nod, he left, shutting the door behind him and faced off the storm.

In the time it took him to bandage her up and get her situated in the bed, the thunderstorm had begun in earnest. The fat raindrops turned into whipping bullets that stung the skin. Salty ocean water started tossing the ship around. He took this time to secure the ship to weather the storm, tying ropes down, securing the sails and aligning their heading, with the red arrow pointing straight forward. It would work until Tikka took over the whole steering thing, as he knew she would.

By the time he was finished, he was soaked to the skin, but the weather was still warm and balmy, the perfect kind of thunderstorm that didn't freeze you to the bone. He stood at the mast head, his hand on the steering column for added security. He couldn't see shit. He swiped water out of his eyes.

* * *

><p>In the bedroom, Tikka was mulling over what had just happened. If she hadn't been in so much pain, she could have dedicated more of her time and energy into interpreting the way Zoro had gripped her tightly and stared at her with such a strange expression of his face before he'd promptly picked her up and hauled her off to bed.<p>

Whatever it was, it have given her major butterflies. Enough to keep her from thinking about the pain for a moment. When he laid her down on the bed, she didn't have anything left in her to protest or struggle, so she fell hard and fast into a deep sleep, knowing she'd need to be back on her feet as soon as possible to help out.

She didn't get much sleep though.

The next thing she knew, the ship was rocking violently in a storm and she came awake siting upright, her heart racing. At times, her body grew cold with fear when the ship tipped and tilted like this, but she had faith in Zoro.

She looked towards the porthole to see that it was, indeed, quite nasty out. They couldn't have gotten too far from the island, since she could see they were in the same weather pattern. Zoro, as usual, was unable to navigate.

Her mind wandered as she gingerly slid out of bed, feeling much better now that the bandaging had stopped the bleeding and her leg seemed to be numb by now. Her mind was flickering over the events of what led up to their hasty retreat, to the way Zoro had so gently taken care of her, when she realized with a shock that she'd left her satchel there. She distinctly remembered the bag being on the floor next to where Zoro had been sleeping. And they'd never picked it up.

She let out a curse, wobbled to her feet, then hurried to the door. It took her three times longer than usual to get to the deck, and as soon as she burst out into the stormy weather, she called out his name loudly, hurrying over to the side of the boat as her eyes eagerly drank in the horizon, trying to discern where they were.

"Zoro! Zoro, I left my satchel! We have to go back, I have to go back! It's really important that I get that satchel!" she looked over the side of the boat, to where there was a small safety boat, and reached for the line, her panicked mind thinking that despite the number of marines on that island, her face wasn't known. She should go alone... "You're face is too dangerous, I'll go!" she yelled.

Zoro looked up when she came out of the room like a bat outta hell, favoring her leg and screaming about her satchel at the island. He was at the steering head, the rain whipping him strongly, struggling to hold them on course to the best of his ability.

"What?" he hollered, "Are you fucking crazy? We can't go back! I'll buy you a new satchel!" he tied a rope down to hold the helm and jumped down to the deck. She was leaning precariously over the side of the ship to grab the rope that held the small life boat. He grabbed her arm and hauled her back, mindful not to be too aggressive with her because of her leg, "You just got shot through the leg! We aren't going back."

It would be absolutely suicide to go back to the island for a silly satchel. He'd replace the clothing and heinous bathing suit in it. The marines were stranded at that place and all the townspeople knew he was a wanted pirate now. Besides, trying to navigate in the storm would be just as mental.

She whirled around to face him, her eyes blazing, as she shrugged off his arm. "I have to go back. It's not the bathing suit or the satchel, the sash! My beautiful golden sash that Loo got me for my birthday! It's so important to me, he got it all the way down the grand line, and he said he risked his life for it…"

She shook her head, and her curls whipped around her face from the torrential rain and wind that whipped at them both. Her lashes were spiky with both tears and the rain, her lips red, her cheeks pink from anger.

"I don't care if it is suicide, I'm still going to go back. I can't face Loo without that sash...it would hurt him so deeply to learn I was so careless with his gift." She turned away from him and headed for the rope for the spare boat again.

"You can't stop me, Roronoa Zoro. I'm going back whether you like it or not," she said stubbornly, limping as she moved but doing her damnedest to hide it.

Thunder clapped loudly above them, lightning flashing across the sky and lighting up the ship like an eerie ghost. Zoro brushed the rain out of his eyes as he tried to calculate her resolve. He could understand it; had he left any of his swords behind, he would be diving off the side of the boat to go swim back to get them.

But she had a serious injury. And it still didn't change the fact that it would be nothing short of insanity. A town teaming of marines who wanted nothing more than the glee to capture his head on a platter. And now they knew that she travelled with him. They would pick her off like nothing. She was good, sure, one of the best, but with a bum leg, how many marines could she take out?

Probably quite a few. More than a few, probably more like a lot. Did that change his feelings on letting her leave this ship in the middle of a monsoon to an island crawling with the enemy?

Nope.

"Exactly. I don't like it so you are NOT leaving," he told her firmly, pitching his voice to be heard over the rain pounding the deck, "Do you SEE this storm? That little boat would crash and burn. The marines will kill you and not give a damn who your father is! And I'm not turning this ship around," a part of him was aware that somewhere along their journey together, he'd become obsessive over her well being. Zoro a week ago would have helped her lower that little death trap into the water and given her a salute of good luck.

He liked to think it was because he was starting to adjust to her as a friend. But even the mighty Roronoa Zoro knew it was so much farther than that. Even now, drenched from the rain, her face tight with determination, indignant resolve and pain, she made his stomach flip over. The crazy in him liked it when she was all fiery at him.

She stared up at him with wide eyes, her fingers clenched into tight fists. He was being so unfair. She knew she was injured, yes. She knew it was really risky, yes. But she knew, KNEW, that he would do the same thing if he w ere in her shoes and he cared dearly about the item being left behind.

She whirled on him and stared at him helplessly as anger whipped through her, evident through her flashing molten gold eyes, her tense body, her tight jaw.

"Zoro…" she gritted out, glaring at him. Everything was hitting her right at that moment. Her body was numb with fiery pain, her mind whirling with fear of losing her beloved treasure and of ignoring Zoro's promise and sneaking away on her own.

And then the very sight of him, standing there drench and sexy and and with a look that was so damn fiercely protective of her that it twisted her gut and set her on fire at the same time, caught between annoyance and admiration. He was frustrating the hell out of her on multiple levels, and she was sick of it.

So she marched up to him, limping even more severely as her leg shot flames of pain up her calf and thigh. She grabbed his shirt and tugged him down to her, unable to get up on her toes, and whispered fiercely, "Then if you're not going to let me go, then you damn well better be willing to go get it for me, or at least take me when this storm is up," her eyes were fierce, blazing her emotions, until in a moment of pure abandon, the lightning making her blood sing, the rain making her heart pound, she tugged him down the last bit and laid her lips over his in a deep and passionate kiss, a little clumsy with inexperience but quickly refined, instinctual, and then she released him, and stumbled back against the railing of the ship, her legs rubbery, her eyes shimmering, her cheeks pink.

"So...so take...that!" She whispered hoarsely after a moments hesitation.

* * *

><p>Zoro's blood pressure shot to the heavens when she grabbed his shirt and tugged him down to her level and growled in his face. He got a reply ready for her, something really nasty, like "I'm not your bitch" or something when she pulled out her ace and used it on him.<p>

She kissed him.

And for just that moment, the whole world narrowed down to her and her mouth. The storm faded from the background, his heart leapt into his throat and his lung took the high road outta there. Her lips were warm, soaking wet from the rain and he was shocked still, frozen in his boots by her, his eyes wide, unseeing. She. Was. Kissing. Him.

He was unprepared for the flood of emotions, the spike in his adrenaline, the tightening in his gut, the swirling in his head. It was overwhelming at best. She stumbled back from him and leaned against the railing, her eyes like little specks of golden fires in the dreary dark of the afternoon storm. She was brazen, bold, fearless.

God, that was why he liked her.

Wild abandon crept through him, gaining momentum like an avalanche, spurring him into taking the three steps to close the gap between them, grab her face with both hands and kiss her. He wasn't sure where the need came from, where the sudden stroke of inspiration, the knowledge on how to best approach such an intimate act, but something instinctual guided him. And when he was through working her over with his mouth the way she just did to him, he wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her in close to him exactly as she did with his collar, so that their faces were inches apart and said this to her:

"You… take that."

He took that moment to put some space between them, suddenly feeling like he would drown in her if he didn't take a couple of steps back. Then, he whipped around, his back to her, watching the storm for half a heartbeat as he let his mind walk away from her and onto their situation. He came to a conclusion faster than he thought he would.

Damn her and her convincing ways.

Slowly, he unwrapped his black bandana off his bicep and methodically tied if over his skull. Then, he looked over his shoulder at her, eyes shadowed by the fabric and the storm and said,

"You better get ready. Because we're going to waste some marines."

Tikka stared at him, open-mouthed. Her brain couldn't catch up. It was still back at that fact that he had kissed her back. He. Kissed. Her. Back.

She had NOT expected that at all.

Her heart leapt in her chest, her body vibrated with awareness. She wanted to taste him again.

But obviously, now was not the time.

So a slow smile spread over her lips, and she stared up at him with hot, wicked eyes that barely disguised the desire she felt for him.

"Let's do this."

* * *

><p>AN- I hope you like! Please leave me a review so that I know what you think of this pairing :)


	7. 7 Separated! Loo the Guardian Bear!

Three hours later, they were hiding behind a bunch of rocks off the peninsula next to the harbor where Tikka's satchel was. Sitting innocently in a room at the inn. She hoped.

The marines seemed to be organizing and preparing to head out to sea to chase after them. Perfect.

"It's almost time. The boat is primed and ready...I'll follow you with the larger ship, hugging the shore and staying out of view, and I'll use the rifles we have on board to cover your back when you come running back, with marines close on your heels, I presume," she added with a smirk, turning her head to stare at Zoro a little.

She couldn't help it. The storm had subsided to a low drizzle, but her heart was still pounding from the excitement his lips and the storm had stirred up in her. He was breathtaking, and he'd kissed her back. What, exactly, that meant, she wasn't so sure.

But whatever it was, it was better than what they had before.

"Sound good, sensei?" she asked, massaging her thigh in an attempt to alleviate the pain of her calf a little. She leaned into him to shift her leg out into a different position, then plopped down to the ground, pulled a rifle over to her, and cocked it with expert precision.

Zoro contemplated, ducked down in the drizzling rain after the storm and preparing to storm the fort all over again was getting his blood pumped. Also, sitting next to her so closely that he could smell her was doing him in, his body still thrumming from their… moment… earlier.

He declared that he had been insane in that moment.

He wasn't sure if it was a good crazy yet or not.

"I'm all business, baby," he told her with a wicked smirk, tying his black bandana over his head. It shadowed his eyes mysteriously. He was getting serious. He wanted to keep his head and no bullet wounds.

No one was collecting his bounty today.

With one last look at her, he vaulted the railing and landed in the skiff in the water. It wasn't long before he was bumping against the pier. The post-storm fog had covered his approach well and from here, he couldn't even see the ship, which was good. He had argued with Tikka again about whether or not she was going to accompany him on shore. He'd put his foot down on that one. With a gimp limp, she would slow him down. Despite that he was a crew member, he always worked best alone.

Marines were posted everywhere, guarding the town, standing entry at every store. He couldn't understand it. He'd left town, why weren't they trying to sail out? Did they really think that he'd come back here? Well… it wasn't like he thought he was coming back either. The satchel didn't have anything important enough in it to keep as hostage.

He crept up the pier, using his ninja-like stealth to stick to the shadows. He overheard a couple of young guards complaining loudly.

"He's not gonna come back! Why do we have to stay here like this?" one whined.

"The Commander thinks that the rest of the Straw Hats might come through here. He's suspicious as to why Zoro was alone. Well, except for the girl, but we have no idea who she is."

He scoffed. He wished Luffy would come through here. Unlucky for him, they were on the other side of the sea chart for this section of the Grand Line.

It wasn't hard to get to the inn and slip into the back and up the servant stairs and into the bedroom. Someone was sleeping there, snoring loudly. But the satchel was sitting exactly where they'd left it, albeit rifled through. He crouched down and quickly search it. Ah ha. The treasured golden sash. He tied it around his hips and snapped his head over his shoulder when the man in the bed rolled over with a snort and a groan, blinking blearily for a moment before falling back to sleep. Zoro let out a silent breath of relief.

He left the satchel there, not wanting there to any suspicion whatsoever that he'd been here. After a moment of debate, he grabbed the little bikini too. He had a sore spot for it as much as he hated it.

Getting back to the pier was a little more difficult. He had to silence a few marines who spotted him. The fog was starting to lift rapidly. He was going to lose his natural cover. Ah, fuck.

Back in the little rowboat, one of the guards he'd overheard complaining suddenly gasped and Zoro whipped his head up to meet the marine's eyes. And there was no stopping him when he took a deep breath and hollered, "IT'S ZORO! HE'S BACK!"

"Ah, fuck you guys," he muttered, ducking when bullets rained over him, thumping hollowly against the wood of the row boat. One burst through the wood so near his face that he stared at the hole for a heartbeat in shock. Wooo… that was close.

"Get him!" the commands were called. Marines reloaded, another group headed for the nearest ship to head him off. Another round of bullets burst at his little boat, putting holes in it. He cursed colorfully when it started to fill with water at a dangerously fast pace. There was nothing for it. He had to swim. He gauged the distance between his ship and him. It was far. He would need to be underwater to best avoid the open fire on him. Oh boy.

Leaving it to luck, he took a deep swallow of air and dove into the water. The ocean filled with bullets, slowly them down oddly when the penetrated the surface. He kicked out, pushing hard. He could barely see the hull of the ship through the salt water. He kicked harder, his lungs burning. 150 meters… 100 meters. Bubble erupted from him, his lungs protesting the lack of air. 50 meters… his head was spinning, his chest tightening… he refused to faint…

He broke of the surface of the water with a desperate gasp and a series of choking coughs and grabbed the rope ladder. Once on board, his legs gave out and he fell to his hand and knees, gasping and coughing, dripping water all over the deck.

"Got… your sash…" he told her intermittently, glad that she'd taken his last-minute cue and got back on board of the ship. He untied the sash from his hips and handed her the soaking silk, then the little string bikini, his stomach clenching. "And your bathing suit…"

* * *

><p>Tikka waited with bated breath, and then when she saw his green hair, she hefted the rifle up, and took aim with her hawk eyes.<p>

Within moments, all hell broke loose and bullets started firing. She counter fired, and then when he was in the water she sniped a few marine down, hitting them in shoulders and arms, vital shooting spots.

She moved back, and onto the ship when things got too hot.

Even when Zoro was on the ship, she didn't stop shooting until she'd maneuvered the ship far enough away, and then tied the rigging down firmly, aimed away from the island and along the long post at full speed.

Finally, she spun around, rushed to Zoro with her dress swirling around her legs, and swept up her sash and bikini, then threw herself at Zoro.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her weak leg buckling under her and forcing her body to press flush with his. She hugged him tightly, hiding her grin in his neck before she pulled back and smiled up at him.

"Thank you so much, Zoro. Please don't hesitate to ask me anything you want from me. I'll do anything to repay you this kindness." She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, mustering her bad leg and stepped back from him. She turned towards the cabin, took two steps, and promptly wobbled unsteadily. Now that her scarf was safe and they were both relatively out of shot of the marines, her adrenaline had vanished from her blood stream.

Her vision blurred, darkened, and she made it three steps before she promptly passed out from being awake too long, loss of blood, shock from her leg, and sheer exhaustion.

* * *

><p>Zoro barely had time to recover from heaving up water when she threw herself at him and hugged him tight, nearly bowling him over with the force of her tackle.<p>

The water dripping from his clothes seeped right into her dress, still damp from the thunderstorm and together, the wet material just made the shape of her blatantly clear. He could feel every single curve of her body from breasts to hips and it would be an act of god to keep the blush from creeping up his neck and heating his face. She thanked him profusely and claimed that she'd do ANYTHING for him in return.

Right now, what he wanted more than anything was for her to get off him.

No. Wait, stay. As much as he was freaked out by his own bodily responses to her, he liked feeling her softness against his hardness.

No. Get off. He needed space.

No. Stay.

No, get the hell off.

He settled for patting her back awkwardly and she pushed away from him all her own, giving him some space to breathe. She was such an odd creature. He suddenly felt like there was no air around him…

She started the trek back to her quarters and he saw the faint before it even began. She swayed, her steps became smaller and he pushed off his knees and launched for her, catching her by her waist when she fell. She was limp right against him, like she'd fallen asleep while standing. A weird sensation crept into the hollow of his chest. Sympathy. He felt… bad for her. She'd been thrown overboard with him, nearly froze to death, fought off pirates, trained hard with him in the mornings, landed on a party island, got shit drunk, chased by marines, shot in the leg and stressed about her sash. It was a lot of adventure to take in the first time around. She wasn't a seasoned adventurer yet.

He picked her up, scooping her behind her knees and carried her into her room. Once he laid her down on the bed, he stifled a yawn himself and headed to him own quarters. He'd watched her secure their heading. Wherever they were going… he needed some rack before they got there.

Hours later, Tikka woke to the distinct feeling of a gently rocking ship. It was surprisingly soothing, to the point where she completely forgot about the events preceding her "nap." But as the night caught up with her, her leg gave a throb of pain in reminder.

How did she end up in the room? She remembered walking back, then feeling dizzy…

She must have passed out, and Zoro, the sweetheart he is, must have carried her here.

Heat filtered into her cheeks, but not because he carried her to bed like a knight on a horse, but because she, the warrior daughter of Hawkeye Mihawk, had passed out TWICE in front of Roronoa Zoro.

She was a weakling.

She moaned her worthlessness as she pulled herself out of bed, gingerly putting her foot down to find that maybe it would be worth spending more time in bed.

Her eyes flickered from the door to her room to the bed and back, debating the pros and cons of sleeping more and resting her leg, or going out and being able to see Zoro.

Her stomach twisted and butterflies erupted out of her belly. They'd exchanged kisses last night. Heated, passionate ones. Had it only been in the heat of the moment? Or had something started last night? She couldn't be sure, and she was dying to find out from Zoro.

Should she just ask him? That seemed...awkward. Maybe she should just...be around him. See how they act. Maybe he'll try to kiss her again…

A shiver went down her spine and she forced herself to stand up, deciding braving the pain of her injured leg was worth it. Besides, she would only get weaker by-

"Tikka-baby! You're Loo Bear has come to get you! You can't escape, my crafty kitten, not this time," the sing-song voice belonged to one man and one man alone. Her nanny, Loo.

Her face turned as white as a sheet, and hurriedly she scrambled to find somewhere to hide, anywhere. She was NOT going back! Her father would kill her and she hadn't trained enough to stand up to him yet. Damn damn damn.

Zoro must be sleeping, or elsewhere, for Loo to sneak past him.

She dove for under the bed at the same instant when her door was smashed open, and a tall giant of a man with a thick red beard tied off in a braid at the end and short, perfectly cropped and styled deep red hair. His arms were the size of her torso, and he was, quite simply, a beast of a man.

But then, he HAD eaten the Ursa Ursa Fruit, giving him the ability to become a giant and supremely powerful grizzly bear that was near undefinable.

When Mihawk chose a protector for his precious daughter, he chose well.

"AHA!" he roared, and shot forward with amazing and surprising speed, dragging her out from under the bed by her ankle. Unfortunately, it was the wrong ankle, and his hand brushed her bullet wound as he dragged her back, wrench a stifled cry from her.

"Woah! Tikka-baby, what the hell?" he said gruffly as he abruptly released her ankle, and then gathered her up in his huge arms and straightening. He glanced first at her dress, frowned, then looked down where her leg was tightly wrapped in bandages, spots of blood starting to seep through on both sides of the through and through.

"Loo Loo, it's nothing, a scratch, YOU just hurt me pulling me out," she glared up at him, knowing it was useless to struggle when he was holding her. He was a mama bear to the heart and protected his ward with ferocity, even from herself.

"Nonsense, I didn't hurt ya," Loo corrected her, then turned on his heel and abruptly marched her out of her cabin and up to the deck. All the while, Tikka complained, kicked-with her good leg-and punched her resistance to the idea of going back with him.

"Loo bear! PLEASE don't do this...I want to be a pirate! I'm so bored with my life! If you really love me, you'll let me stay with Zoro. We're on our way back to the pirate ship!" She protested, tugging at his beard now and earning a black glare from his gentle grown eyes.

"You mean to tell me you've been alone on this here ship with Roronoa Zoro?" Loo suddenly roared, stopping dead in the middle of the deck and glaring down at her, then lifting his glare up to try and find the perpetrator. "How dare he! How dare you! I'm going to teach him some manners about the inappropriateness of him being alone with a lady like you! This is simply irresponsible, and your father was so kind as to teach him," Loo's voice got more high pitched and offended as he spoke, and Tikka rolled her eyes and shook her head, struggling in earnest now to get down.

Inside the ship, Zoro wasn't to be found in the captain's quarters. Something about sleeping in a bed – someone else's bed, ESPECIALLY that nasty pirate captain he'd wasted – rubbed him the wrong way. So he slept towards the back of the ship where the crew must have slept and chose a hammock strategically. Hammock sleeping was so… peaceful, the ship gently rocking, swaying the hammock. It had a nostalgic feel for him and when he slept, he dreamt he was back on the Thousand Sunny with his best friends…

A violent thud and some screaming awoke him so fast he flipped out of the hammock and hit the floor. He shook his head to clear it, rubbing a spot on his forehead as more thumping and more yelling and the deep voice of a man had all the hair standing on the back of his neck. An ambush?

Tikka!

Forgoing boots, Zoro grabbed his swords and scrambled for the deck. God damn it! They must be being ambushed by a pirate ship. They didn't fly a pirate jolly roger, so they must think they are civilians on the Grand Line. They'd search the captain and first-mate's quarters first… Tikka was there and with her injury, they take her down fast.

He hit the stairs and his long legs ate them up three at a time until he was at the helm. Alongside them was a smaller vessel, though still large enough for a crew of people and the scuffling was coming from the deck. He hit the railing and what he saw had his throat tightening in fear. A HUGE man, easily eight feet tall with a fro of red hair, was manhandling Tikka across the deck while she squirmed and screamed in protest.

"Oi!" Zoro called fiercely, "Behemoth! Who the fuck are you? Let her go or I slice you into ribbons." The giant seemed alone. Did he not have a crew? That information prickled at his sixth sense. Men who didn't have a crew were either stupid or really fucking powerful. Like Mihawk.

Loo whirled around and Tikka went stock still when she heard Zoro call out. They could NOT get into a fight. She couldn't stand to have either of them killed, or hurt, especially not for her. She strained to sit up in Loo's arms, glaring at her nanny before placing herself squarely between them, her back twisted towards Loo and her face upturned to Zoro.

"He's my...uh...protector, Zoro! Don't attack, he's just doing what he's supposed to do," she called, still squirming. It was making her face white from the pain shooting up her leg, but she said nothing. She would NOT be weak anymore. In fact, her face showed nothing of her pain, just the whiteness.

"You!" Loo called indignantly, pointing up at him and blinking his heavily make-upped eyelashes in a fierce scowl.

"Roronoa Zoro I presume!" he continued, patting his hair very feminely, then promptly turned his back to Zoro and started striding towards the ship he'd left tied to theirs. "I'm taking my charge back with me. You better hide yourself once Mihawk darling finds out who took his darling baby girl. How dare you keep her on a ship by herself, AND you got her injured. Shame on you, honey."

Tikka scrambled up over Loo's huge shoulders and growled at him before straining to see Zoro.

"No! I don't want to go, Loo bear. Let me go, I want to be a pirate!" she punched at his shoulder and strained to get free, getting dizzy from the effort.

Zoro's blanched. Her protector? Was this Loo?

"What?" he exclaimed, "This guy is your protector?" he couldn't even begin to think about it, his mind boggled that this guy had even found them and that he'd come to take her back. And… did he just call Zoro HUNNY? And Mihawk… darling?

He was a quack.

"I didn't kidnap her. She stowed away on our ship. Then we fell overboard. End of story." He supplied, jumping down to the deck, completely unthreatened by this bizarre she-man-man-man. He didn't know what to say beyond that. Should he get involved? She wanted to stay, he wouldn't mind letting her stay. But he really didn't want to get in a row with her protector guy.

Maybe it would be better if she went. He was all sorts of confused by this woman. He needed no more distractions from finding his crew and continuing on his goal to becoming the greatest swordsman. Kissing… his enemy's daughter was probably not in his best interest.

"Well," he mustered up old Zoro, that one that didn't get attached to women like that, stern, stoic, cool Zoro. After all, he did owe Mihawk, and he's be furious about his daughter, so it was for the bedt. "I'll see you around. It's been fun," he lifted his hand in a wave and headed back to the helm to direct his ship to find Luffy and his crew. Inside… he was a swirl of different emotions that both frightened him and debilitated him. She'd go back to her mysterious island and he'd never see her again, unless he defeated her father. It was better this way, to walk away from her before he had a chance to define her as something to him.

"How could you! You promised to train me!" She yelled, her voice getting somewhat of a desperate hitch to it, but it was already too late. Loo was humming his victory and hauled her overboard, landing his huge hulk on the smaller ship, one capable of being manned by one person, but still large enough to defend itself with canons.

"Tikka doll, hush. This is for the best. Consider it; his sensei would flay him alive if he ever found out you were alone on a ship with Roronoa Zoro for who knows how long. He's probably going kill him right away. He's only protecting his own hide, as he should. But man, was he a babe, huh? You better have behaved yourself, missy."

Loo glared down at her, then tucked her down into a bed in one of the cabins. "This is for your own good too. Now stay put. You'll get over it one day. Maybe you're father will let you travel with him soon. Then, technically, you'll be a pirate," Loo smiled, tapped her cheek, which was red with fury, then sauntered out of the cabin, closing the door, and locking it.

Tikka let out a roar of fury, and Loo winced, his shoulders slumping a little. He knew he needed to protect her, and he never went against Mihawk's wishes, but it killed him to see his baby girl so upset. She truly was passionate...And though he knew little of this Zoro, if Mihawk had agreed to train him that he couldn't be a bad person.

With a sigh, and ignoring Tikka's many calls, even as they got hoarse, he set sail. They would go to the next island, resupply, then use their eternal pose to return home.

* * *

><p>Two days later, and Tikka still wasn't talking to Loo. He'd bandaged and applied poultices to her leg in silence, left her meals in silence, and brushed her hair in silence. It killed him a little more each morning.<p>

Now, a huge storm seemed to be brewing and she was still brooding below deck.

Loo grit his teeth, fixed his hair, and then went to work.

Hours later, however, the storm was getting nasty, and Tikka had re-emerged onto the deck to help him, yelling over the noise of the storm. Both of them were pulling on riggings when a huge wave suddenly appeared out of the darkness, right above them, and started cresting.

Tikka's eyes widened, and she let out a shout. She didn't even see Loo as he looked up sharply, then dove for her. His body hit hers, and encased it, moments before the wave crashed down.

* * *

><p>In the bright and clear morning, Loo the Bear and Dracule Ratikka were drifting across the vast ocean, resting on a large wooden flank from their destroyed boat. Twice wrecked at sea, and Tikka could barely move, making sure to keep her leg out of the water and on Loo's lap, to avoid drawing sea kings with her blood.<p>

Or sharks.

* * *

><p>AN-PLEASE review :) We love to get feedback!

"What are we going to do…?" Tikka ventured quietly, and Loo didn't answer.


	8. 8 Reunited! The Games of Drama!

For nearly two weeks, the Straw Hat Pirates travelled that Grand Line to look for Zoro and Tikka. They had abandoned their destination and simply travelled from island to island, hoping to spot them, hoping to hear a whisper of their whereabouts, anything to assure them that he was alive…

Luffy had broken down and managed to eat something, true to his character, after Nami talked to him. She assured him that Zoro was alive and having his own adventure somewhere that he'd share with the rubber man Captain when they reunited. It'd cheered him up significantly.

He still creeped the Crow's Nest everyday with binoculars, searching the horizon for a ship or an island. The bright, clear morning after a monstrous storm, Luffy finally spotted something floating in the water.

"HEY!" he called excitedly, "There's something floating in the water!"

"Probably just driftwood, Luffy," Sanji replied dryly.

"No! No, there's really something there!" he shouted, adjusting the binoculars, "People! People overboard!" he could see a large person with red hair and what looked like a little girl in a dress with bundles of snowy curls… "Holy shit! I think that's Hawkeye's kid! Whats-her-name that stowed away on ship! She was with Zoro!"

That got everyone's attention. They rushed to the side of the boat, taking turns fighting over the pairs of binoculars to get a look. The piece of wood carrying the two shipwrecked souls came closer until finally, they could be hauled onto the ship.

"I can't believe we found you!" Luffy laughed as Sanji went to make some tea and Nami came back with blankets and towels, "Where's Zoro? Who's this fat guy?"

* * *

><p>It'd been three days since Tikka had been bodily hauled off this ship. Her last words to him echoed in his mind like a haunting mantra:<p>

"How could you! You promised to train me!"

Roronoa Zoro never went back on a promise. He held them like Nami held her money. It made him anxious not to keep his promises.

A rational part of him assured him this was best. He'd find his crew and he would never have to worry about seeing her ever again. He could beat up her father scot free. No attachments. It still didn't make him feel good though. She was the only woman to ever fire all his switches in more than just swordplay.

He didn't like to admit it though.

"Damn it! Where the hell am I?" he growled, looking down at the log pose. He wasn't even following the red arrow! He turned the ship hard to the starboard side, "Damn storm… threw me all off…" he was heading in the right direction and everything before another monsoon whipped his ship all around. He must be in between weather patterns of islands or something.

* * *

><p>Tikka couldn't believe her eyes when the Thousand Sunny showed up, and was still shocked silent as their hauled their exhausted asses off the scrap of wood keeping Loo alive and onto the firm deck. She could practically kiss it with happiness.<p>

"Luffy!" she finally exclaimed, peeling herself from the deck to stagger to her feet, now barely limping on her leg, and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I'm so happy to see you! I hope Zoro's okay...his ship is much bigger than ours though, so he should have been fine."

She pulled back, her hands on his shoulder, and her expression was very serious.

"Luffy, you cannot, I repeat, CANNOT, let my nanny, Loo, take me away from this ship. I want to be a PIRATE, not some little prisoner on a secluded island."

"Who are you calling fat! Well, you are a skinny stick, dear, but that doesn't mean you can call other people fat," Loo said in his haughty tone and sat up, rubbing his running mascara out from under his eyes. "Tikka, you have to come with me….you're father will kill me, and you! And the Straw Hats! Everyone!" his voice went high pitched and he threw his bear like arms up into the air.

She released Luffy and whirled around to glare at the bear man. "You are so over-exaggerating, you drama queen," she accused him, then sighed, rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking he hip out. "Besides, I plan to train with Zoro until I'm good enough to stand up to papa and convince him I'm going to be a pirate. I don't think I'll beat him, but I'll hold my own enough to impress him."

Loo slowly got to his feet, scowling up fixing his hair regardless, then sighed, turning away from his miniature charge and cross his large arms across his own chest.

"Tikka-baby, you are such a pain in the ass...you're father if going to kick my ass, I hope you know that." The man finally turned back around, and there were tears in his eyes, shining bright brown.

"Loo bear?" Tikka asked, blinking and dropping her arms, her expression worried.

Nami glanced at Nico Robin, and both shrugged their shoulders. "This is crazy. THAT'S the nanny that Mihawk got for his daughter? He's...very girly…"

"Yes, but he's huge...I would not want to face a man like that. He appears to be able to handle his own." Nico Robin tilted her head to the side and smiled in mild amusement.

"Tikka, my beloved god-daughter! You're all grown up!" and Loo promptly burst into tears, rushed forward, and grabbed her up in a giant hug, sobbing madly.

Tikka stiffened, then felt her own nose twinge in sadness, and she sniffled, patting his back, then hugged him tightly. "Loo, I'll be alright. These Straw Hat Pirates are amazing!"

Franky beamed and winked at Chopper, who blushed.

"I can see where Tikka gets her flair for drama," Robin remarked with an amused smirk.

"Besides, you can stay with the beautiful Tikka until the next island, where we can get you a new boat, sir...Loo Bear…" Sanji cut in with a smirk.

Loo stilled, released Tikka, and then turned around to glare at Sangi. "Are you putting the moves on my dear Tikka?" Sanji blinked, and held his hands up with a small laugh. "And it's ma'am to you, handsome."

Tikka stifled a grin, then turned to look at Luffy, swaying a little. "Um...can I eat? and also...sleep?"

After Tikka had her nap and stuffed her face with a relish to rival Luffy's, Nami sat down with her and a map to discuss where she'd left Zoro.

"Right here," she had said, "We were on this island and we hadn't travelled very far before we were intercepted by Loo. That was three days ago though…"

Nami'd laughed and waved her hand, "Don't worry. He didn't get very far…"

They'd set a course for the waters where Zoro would be. It's been two days since then. And Luffy had changed his location from the Crow's Nest to the masthead, still with his binoculars. His faith had been renewed since his chance finding of Tikka. This was going to be so great! He could have his swordsman back! And he was alive! Unless he'd gotten eaten by a sea king or something in the last five days…

Even if he did, he'd get out. How awesome would that be though!

"I see a BOAT!" Usopp's voice rang out from the Crow's Nest, "It's too far away to tell the flag but it's a ship alright! Wait… wait… it's an UNMARKED FLAG! IT'S ZORO!"

"Where? WHERE? I wanna SEE!" Luffy scrambled up into the Nest and looked in the direction Usopp was, slightly the port side. Franky was at the helm and steered hard to the left. As they got closer, it became apparent that the ship wasn't filled with a crew manning it, which got everyone excited. Even closer, and they could see Zoro manning the helm, a very determined look on his face. He'd seen the Straw Hat emblem and he was gunning for them.

"I can't WAIT!" Luffy hollered, careening his shoulder back, "GUM GUM ROCKET!"

* * *

><p>Five stinking days he'd been on this ship alone, run ragged trying to maintain it all by himself. He felt like he was sailing in circles. After the storm flipped his map all around, he couldn't figure out which was the right way up and gave up trying to sail with it. So he just pointed the little red arrow and sailed.<p>

Five days he'd been alone, adding to the total of nearly two weeks since he'd been toss off his ship. The food supply was two days gone. He was tired and hungry and thirsty and cranky. And all he thought about was Tikka, every single fucking minute of every single fucking day and at night, all he dreamed about was her. She was haunting him and no amount of heavy bodily training or food deprivation was going to rid him of her.

Time, he reasoned, time or he'd spoon out his eyes to clear the image of her away.

It was mid morning when a ship appeared on the horizon. Half asleep at the helm, it had surprised him to blearily blink open his eyes and see it. It his half-daze, he imagined it was the Straw Hat ship, believed he'd seen the emblem on the sail. That was silly though. They were all the way across the Grand Line right now. He mentally prepared to jump this ship coming for him and take their supplies. His stomach growled and tightened angrily.

A few more seconds and he was fully awake enough to read the jolly roger flag. Skull, crossbones with a straw hat on its head.

Holy shit. It was the best damned sight of his eyes. The Thousand Sunny. He'd found it.

He turned hard so that he was heading straight at them, his adrenaline pumping hard. He would see his crew again, sleep in his hammock, eat that damned cook's food…

"GUM GUM ROCKET!"

He heard the shout from across the ocean and his face paled, "Luffy! You moron!" but it was too late. The pirate captain grabbed him by the collar of his tank top in a tight grip and yanked hard. Zoro was off his feet and flying over the ocean at speeds unmatched by any other living thing or even nonliving thing. His eyes watered from the wind. He braced himself for the crash landing…

He slingshoted into the deck of the boat, cracking the very wood on the floor as he bounced across the floor before the railing halted his momentum abruptly, leaving him dazed and confused at best. What seemed like a thousand faces were suddenly swimming in his vision as every member of the crew crowded over him. He could make out Chopper and Usopp. He could smell Nami's perfume and he heard Luffy's laugh.

"We found you, Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed, leaning down so that all Zoro saw was his captain and the straw hat, "We've been looking for you for DAYS!"

"Hey, Luffy…" he managed weakly, trying to regain his vision, "I hate it when you do that, you idiot…" it didn't sound as angry as he wanted it to be.

"I couldn't wait…" came the simple reply.

Clearly, judging by how hard he landed, he'd been cruising at top speed.

Loo finally gave up trying to tan in peace and sat up, realizing that they had in fact moved, and not only that, but someone else was on board. People kept shouting and he peered curiously over the railing of the upper deck to see that the green-haired babe was here.

He was both happy and unhappy. Happy because, clearly, he was a babe and would make this trip to the island much better in terms of eye-candy, but he had a bad feeling about that guy. He didn't like him around his baby girl…

_Speaking of which...wasn't she…_ "Oops…" Loo sighed and glanced back towards the sea.

* * *

><p>Three minutes later, Tikka finally reached the ship. Her expression was black, her golden eyes promising murder, as she tugged herself up the rope ladder that she'd left herself forever ago when she'd gone fishing in the first place. That is, before the ship had SAILED AWAY FROM HER.<p>

"Luffy! Dammit, Luffy, you sailed away when I was STILL IN THE WATER! I was fishing to feed you, dumbass!" She shouted as she hauled herself the last bit and promptly clambered up over the railing and sunk to the ground of the deck, exhausted from swimming all the way after them.

Only then did she raise her eyes to see that there was another member of the crew there. Zoro.

Her mouth popped open in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. "Well look who finally found the ship," she commented as she pushed herself up to her feet and planting her fists on her hips. Water sluiced down her nearly-nude body and over the yellow and pink bathing suit she wore.

She was currently wearing one of Nami's bathing suits, loaned to her, because she'd left her other suit with Zoro.

"Tikka put some clothes on!" Loo called angrily from above, shaking his fist and glancing from the swordsman to Tikka and back.

Tikka ignored him with a wave of her hand.

Zoro recovered his bearings and sat up and everyone took a few steps back to give a little breathing space, "I'm alright, guys. Just hungry and tired."

"Sanji!" Luffy snapped, suddenly all business, especially anything that involved food, "Get the man some grub! STAT."

Sanji gave a faux salute, gave Zoro a nod that clearly bespoke, "Nice to have you back, mosshead."

"LUFFY! DAMNIT! You sailed AWAY WITHOUT ME!" an angry voice exclaimed and when the captain turned his head to glance at the direction with a sheepish, oops, Zoro's blood pressure spiked and the color drained from his face. That voice… he literally heard it in his sleep now. Angry, passionate, fiery…

"My bad, Tikka," Luffy grinned and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous grin.

Zoro, sitting on his ass, leaned to the side around his captain to glance at her slightly wide-eyed. She… was here? How? When? WHY? God damn it, WHY? He needed to be rid of her! She stood in all her glory, wearing a pink and yellow bathing suit with her hands draped over her hips and one leg cocked to the side, her curls plastered to her face and shoulders, some wisps drying fast and curling around her forehead and cheeks. She dripped water all over the deck. He touched his hip consciously. He had her red bathing suit still. And her golden sash wrapped around his waist. They hadn't left his person since she did. He never questioned himself why that was so.

The tightening sensation in his stomach at the sight of her was completely infuriating, "Woman! Why are you here?" he growled, pointing at her, his face a mask of frustration at the way she made him feel. He took it out externally.

Tikka perked a brow at Zoro when he pointed at her, and turned to grab the towel she'd left by the deck, revealing the wickedly long and serrated knife tied to her calf. She picked up the towel, and started drying off her face.

"I'm here, Zoro," she pronounced his name carefully and accusingly, "because our ship couldn't outlast the storm and we were shipwrecked...again! And I had to save Loo, and then Luffy found us, and then I convinced him that I belonged on this ship."

She tossed the towel around her shoulder and stalked towards him, and stopped when her eyes flickered down, drawn by color, to see that her sash was tied around his waist and her bikini was tucked into it.

She felt a curious warming in her heart and a little flip in her belly. That...was sorta amazing.

She glanced up at him, and her eyes warmed just a little. She marched right up to Zoro and poked him in the chest. "So then, I assume, Mr. Swordsman, that our training is back on? Oh, and thank you...for saving these for me." she reached down, and deftly untied her sash, her fingers lingering for a moment at his waist, able to feel the heat of him through his shirt.

Then she stepped back, and held the soft material to her chest and smiled, brilliantly, up at Zoro for the briefest second before she turned away, and headed for the girls dormitory.

"Tikka baby, I've changed my mind! You're not staying here on this ship," Loo called from the top deck, tugging on his shirt hastily as he scramble to get down there and threaten Zoro.

"Loo, I'm staying. End of conversation," she snapped, her frayed nerves becoming apparent for a moment, before she opened the door and disappeared.

Loo let out a bear growl, the hair on his arms rippling with the desire to change, but finally he sighed, crossed his arms over his chest, sent his nastier glare down at Zoro, then stalked back to his tanning chair.

She had stalked up to Zoro and was suddenly in his face, one minute looking like she was ready to fillet him like a fish then the next, there was something sparkling in her eyes, something between genuine appreciation and wicked mischief. She swiftly untied her sash from his hips, plucked her bathing suit from him and get the most brilliant smile that had his whole heart doing a backhand spring in her chest before she sauntered away.

It all happened so fast that he was powerless against the flood of adrenaline mixed with the tingling feeling in his toes that she made him feel. Devil woman. He didn't WANT to be worked over by her so easily. Why couldn't he resist her temptation like he had with previous encounters with women?

Maybe because she didn't let him resist her. She wasn't like others; she wasn't afraid of him or overly impressed with him that it was dull. She was the right mix of everything. He hated her. He… really liked her.

Just as she disappeared into the girls dormitory, Sanji came out with a spread that had Luffy's mouth watering. Zoro's too, but he contained it better.

"Back off, rubber man! This is Zoro's. Yours is in the kitchen," Sanji snapped, handing the plate to Zoro with a shake of his head as Chopper, Usopp, Luffy and Franky booked it for the kitchen. The cook handed Robin and Nami a blue beverage of some sorts, "When's the last time you ate something?" Sanji turned to Zoro.

"Two days ago."

"Damn," the cook lit a cigarette and took a healthy draw.

* * *

><p>Inside, Tikka was really confused about Zoro for the first two days. She was so mad at him for breaking his promise, even though now he was going to train her again. She'd felt really hurt by that, especially since he'd kissed her and then pawned her off to her nanny back to back.<p>

But then, she was just so damn happy to see him, and that he had her sash and bikini, that she didn't know what to do! So for the first two days, she flat out ignored him. She needed time to think, to process, and to watch him. In that time, she got familiar with the rest of the crew, and spent time with Loo, comforting him about leaving her on a ship of miscreants.

But she knew he'd grown fond of the Straw Hats, so she was less worried.

After two days, she'd formulated a plan to get back at Zoro, of sorts. It was more than just getting back at him, it was satisfying her own urges. She wanted to see...what happened. She also decided to keep her machinations a secret for now. No need to let the others know about their tiff, or...whatever it was.

She wore her breeches, sash, and ornate boots, and only her red bikini top. She was dressed to seduce, but it was excusable since she was about to ask Zoro to go fishing with her.

Zoro was up in the gym, doing weight training, something she did not partake in, and he was also alone. The other were either napping or elsewhere.

So she climbed up, and into the gym like a stealthy cat, and found him with his back to her, lifting more weight than she could comprehend. She stared for just a little while, her eyes wide, her heart pounding, to see his muscles flex and tighten rhythmically.

A small sigh came out of her lips before she could stop herself, but then, she decided it didn't matter. She wanted him to know she was here.

She licked her lips, unaware that her eyes were shinning with the lust that inexplicably took her over at the sight of him shirtless and sweaty, and cleared her throat intentionally to get his attention, and stepped closer to him.

Zoro had just been thinking about how good it was to be back with the Straw Hats when she'd charged in. Everything from working out in the gym to having to wash dishes with Sanji and yank an over exuberant Luffy out of the water. He may be the kinda guy that did his own thing and worked best alone, but he still missed the commotion of the ship. And falling back into the routine of chores, working out and drinking and partying at night was therapeutic.

It took his mind off Tikka for the most part. Though, she'd been ignoring him for two days straight now. He wasn't sure how he felt about it still. At first, he was glad for the release away from her because just being in the same vicinity of her was overwhelming. Then, the next day, it was starting to get ridiculous. Or maybe he was just more hyper aware of it. She'd go OUT OF HER WAY to not ask him for anything. Not even the damned salt at the dinner table.

He hadn't decided how he was going to approach her on it yet. Or if he was gonna. Clearly, she was pissed off at him about something. Which was ludicrous because he'd done nothing but save her ass during their two weeks together.

He was up in the gym, in the process of changing the weights on the handle, upping it from an easy 3 tons to a middle ground 5 tons when he heard a sound behind him and paused his movement. His instincts told him it was her without looking, purposely not looking. Something about her presence, he just knew, even before she cleared her throat.

"What do you want?" he asked her calmly, indifferently, picking up the weights again and slinging them over his shoulder. She hadn't spoken a word to him in 48 hours. He hoped she wasn't expecting friendly and warm.

Tikka felt a flash of annoyance go through he when he refused to turn around, but then she decided it didn't matter. They were about even, she decided, since he did save her life. So then her little...game...would just be because she wanted to.

Yeah, she blamed her incessant craziness to Loo and his dramatic ways.

And because Zoro was just too tempting to leave alone. She was curious, driven by that look in his eye the moment before he'd kissed her back that other night.

So she walked, slowly, around his figure until she was right in front of him, standing in her bathing suit with her hair up in a messy bun and loose curls falling around her face.

"A couple of things, actually," she told him with a small smile, taking a step closer to him, conscious of the weight he was holding practically over her now. She was confident in his abilities.

"First, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go fishing with me? I could teach you to fish with a sword or a dagger underwater," she added with a wicked gleam to her eyes, one that revealed the swords-woman, lethal side of her.

"And lastly…" she tilted her head to the side, and glanced up at the weight, before deliberately looking back into his eyes, her gaze heating very slightly, her cheeks warming from embarrassment. But she pushed on, ever emboldened and rarely put off. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life so many times these past few days...well, week, really."

And with that, knowing he couldn't run away or duck, holding those weights, she leaned up, delicately placed her fingertips on his chest for balance, and laid her lips over his in a smoldering, deep and yet achingly brief kiss.

She pulled back, then dropped down from her toes, holding her breath. She was caught between the urge to stay and the urge to run.

* * *

><p>When Tikka came around to his vision, he got an eye full of her. That… damn her, she KNEW he hated that red bikini an all its wickedness and she wore it to spite him. And she was back in her pants and boots, slung low on her hips so that he could plainly see the tops of her hip bones and the V below it.<p>

She was unadulterated temptation and he had a gut feeling she was doing it on purpose, out to get him for some reason.

He eyed her when she offered to teach him how to fish. Teach him? Ha. He could fish, just not the way she did. But he could slay anything, above or below the water, gills or lungs, it didn't matter. He was the master. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. Fishing, especially the kind she was talking about, involved stripping down to bathing suits and swimming around in the ocean together. It was… wholly sensual.

He was about to agree to this activity when she did the unexpected. The moment she cocked her head to the side and pressed her hand against his chest, he knew exactly what she was going to do, the awareness prickling him and he was immobilized. He was torn between wanting it and bolting.

She kissed him and it rocked him to his toes. In a split second decision, he started to kiss her back, to explore this new sensation she brought to him, this… desire to hold her against his body and kiss her senseless, before she pulled back, and the wicked gleam in her eye told him everything he needed to know. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

He set the weight down beside him, rocking the floor from its massive size, "Let's go fishing then," he answered her, surprising himself at how rock steady he was after she just short of rocked his world. He headed down to the rope ladder to go change into some shorts.

His answer had came so easily when TIkka had stepped back from kissing him, and her eyes widened ever slightly in surprise. Well...that works.

A sudden grin lit up her features. This felt so...odd...and yet wonderful. He hadn't run when she'd kissed him, and even better, he hadn't been dissuaded from swimming and fishing with her afterwards.

Progress. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Progress to….what?

That thought made her uncomfortable, because she hadn't really given too much thought of what was between her and Zoro. She'd sorta just going at it by gut instinct. The implications of her actions was too vast for her to think about right now, she'd stress herself out.

So she ignored it, stored it at the back of her mind, and followed Zoro out to meet him by the fishing zone she'd erected for herself. At first she'd just left a ladder there, but Usop had come by the other day and had decided to build her a whole little station, a set of shelves with everything she needed, as well as a fishing pole rigging and all of her supplies. Franky had even modified part of the ship so that she could holster rods right into the ship itself, along the railing.

Waiting for Zoro, she shimmied out of her pants and stood in her bikini alone, and then tied a giant knife to her calve, and on second though, another one to her hip. Satisfied, she grabbed herself two pairs of goggles, one for Zoro, and peered into the water to see what conditions looked like.

Perfect. Unable to stifle the happy grin plastered to her face, she gathered her mess of curls and tied them up, the sunlight falling around her as she absently stared into the ocean blue, the taste of Zoro's lips lingering on the tongue. Her thoughts wandered instantly to that man, to the myriad of thoughts and feelings he created in her.

Once he had changed into some black swim shorts, Zoro left his swords in his room and headed for the deck. As soon as he was out on the deck, something bizarre caught his attention. Nami was in her bathing suit with the straps untied, which wasn't strange because he knew that she hated the tan lines. The strange part was that Luffy was tying her up again. Zoro stared for a minute. He hadn't realized that Luffy was capable of tying up a bathing suit, actually. Which, upon closer inspection, he wasn't. One of his rubbery fingers was stuck and Nami was growing steadily more irritated with him.

Zoro dismissed it, turning to head to the little fishing station that Tikka had all set up, and promptly stopped dead in his tracks. She was all set to go in her bathing suit, leaning over the edge to check out the water. It wasn't the curve of her ass that caught his attention… it was the perfect position she was in for him to shove her over the edge of the boat.

A wicked smile crept over his face as he stalked up behind her with all the stealth he possessed. It was quick and dirty. Two hands against her shoulders and he shoved her hard, sending her tumbling into the ocean, arms flailing, a startled scream ripped from her throat.

He chuckled at her expense before diving into the water smoothly. It was the perfect temperature, not too cool and but not like bath water either.

"How was that?" he grinned at her, shaking the water from his hair and face.

* * *

><p>Up on deck, Nami rolled her eyes and wondered to herself why she even bothered to ask Luffy to tie up her suit. Oh yeah, he'd been the only one around.<p>

She sighed and twisted a little to find, out of her periphery, that it looked like Luffy might have tied his fingers in there too. "Luffy! Don't tie yourself to my bathing suit!" she twisted, trying to get to the straps to tie them herself, but his fingers were literately tied into the suit, so as she turned, his fingers stayed in place, stretching further away, until she'd essentially wrapped herself in his fingers across her bare stomach and back.

Looking down to find the predicament she was in, she couldn't help the shiver that raced up and down her spine to feel his warm skin on so much of her exposed stomach and back. It was only a passing feeling, and before long she was too annoyed by the fact that her captain was now tied to her bathing suit to care anymore.

"This is all your fault," she complained to Luffy, looking down between them, and reached to untie her suit once again.

* * *

><p>AN- Enjoy :D


	9. 9 Zoro's Revenge! Loo's Special Talk!

Tikka was enjoying the breeze when her world was suddenly turned upside down as Zoro shoved her head-first off the ship.

Startled, a small cry slipped out, but she'd been pushed off of things and into water more times than she could count, since Loo loved swimming but couldn't himself, and so lived vicariously through Tikka. It was for that reason why she was such a good swimmer, that and the fact that she was the only one who could guarantee food on the table every day.

As soon as her body was midair, she twisted to see who had shoved her, and saw Zoro's green hair before she fell out of the line of vision to the deck. She landed in a perfect dive, shifting mid-air like a cat shoved off a banister, and finally entered the water from head to toe in a perfect line, plunging her deep into the water. When she finally surfaced, she shook her curls out of her face and aimed a nasty glare in Zoro's direction, then thought better of it and smile sweetly, swimming closer towards him.

"How thoughtful of you, my dear swords master," she murmured in a soft, overly sweet voice as she drifted closer to him still. Finally, she was less than a few inches from his face, and tilted her head to the side. A sign of mischief to come.

"But now you're in my realm of expertise," and with that, she surged forward, planted both of her hands on his shoulders, and used her body weight to very quickly and efficiently shoved him deep underwater, not stopping until her feet replaced her hands and she essentially launched herself out of the water with his body, and subsequently launched _him_ DEEPER under water.

Her strong hands grasped the rope ladder attached to the boat before she could fall back into the water, laughing. As she started to climb up the boat, she said over her shoulder, "I have to get us some supplies, Zoro, so you stay put while I grab us some things."

She was quick, grabbing the box with the bait and hooking it onto the belt which held her knife at her hip. She also grabbed two nets and then another dagger, this one for Zoro.

Gathering everything she needed, she put it in a bucket that Usop had rigged for her, and lowered it down until it was about three feet above the water, next to the ladder, then promptly dove off the boat. She landed close to him on purpose, and landed with her body flailed, to splash him with as much water as possible before she finally emerged from the water and grinned at him. "Ready for this?"

* * *

><p><em>Man. Who knew that bathing suits were so HARD to tie?<em> Monkey D. Luffy couldn't imagine doing this every time he went swimming. Not that he did much swimming, but still.

"I didn't do it on purpose…" he muttered sheepishly, frowning in concentration. She twisted around and he watched as she stretched his fingers out and wrapped them around her torso. It was highly ineffective. Maybe if he pulled… nope. That just tightened the ties.

"This is all your fault…" she blamed him, reaching behind her to untie the straps. All that did was bring them nearly flush together, her breasts brushing against his chest.

Now, Luffy may be slower than average, but it was more because he just took a very simple view of life. Black and white. No shades of gray. He didn't understand much. But he wasn't as clueless as he was when he was a younger man. So when a woman pressed against him, he noticed. He always chose to ignore it, but when it came to Nami, she was harder to ignore.

So his natural reaction… was to go still and for a flush to creep over his face. But he kept his expression calm and stoic and let her work the straps apart and his fingers snapped back to true size.

Nami got a little pink creep in her cheeks as they were pulled flush together for a moment, and she felt his sculpted abs flex unconsciously as she squirmed to untie the swimsuit. And, ironically, it was his body pressed against her that kept the top from flipping up and flashing him right here and there.

She let out a nervous chuckle and reached up to hold the suit down, then stepped back from him, looking away. She drew in a breath, then waved her hand nonchalantly, because this was Luffy, the most clueless guy on the ship, and he probably hadn't even noticed.

"Thanks for trying anyways, Luffy. I'll go find Robin or something," she let out a small laugh, then disappeared into the cabin, a full out retreat in her mind, but she walked calmly and stoically.

* * *

><p>Zoro sighed mentally; he should have known that she would retaliate. For her not to get him back for his little stunt would be against her nature. Regardless, he barely had time to gasp in a breath before she dunked him under the water with a forceful shove until she could use his shoulders as a springboard, forcing him under the water even deeper. With a strong kick, he resurfaced to find her clinging to the rope ladder. He lunged for her ankle, bent on retribution, but she laughed at him and climbed up to grab some supplies which they needed to fish.<p>

When she came back down, she handed him some goggles, which he strapped to his head and then a foot long serrated dagger, which he inspected with a raised brow.

"I'm a swordsman," he told her plainly, "What… am I going to do with this wee dagger? I'd rather use my hands first" He grinned ferociously and handed the knife back then flexing his fingers. "All naturale." He going to catch something monstrous, and master this fishing skill.

Tikka rolled her eyes at Zoro and swam closer to him. "You think so, but it's always good to have a knife on hand with fish. You see, sometimes they get right up close to them, and it's hard to maneuver larger weapons or with your hands without destroying the fish or sea king which you wish to preserve and eat. You want to kill it with inflicting the least amount of damage, and do the damage in areas that you don't intend to eat."

She swam right up to him, her eyes glittering with excitement and a little mischief. But she didn't touch him, she slid suddenly to the side and around him, still up close, and only then put her hands up to his shoulders, sliding them down to his back to slide the knife he'd offered back to her into his sash, the blade sliding slowly, delicately, over the flesh of his lower back and butt before she finally released his sash and pat his lower back.

"So even if you don't use it, keep it here," she told him, a smile in her voice, before she propelled herself backwards and tugged out the bait from her side.

"Alright, I'm going to tempt some beasts and fish to us...be prepared. And remember, delicate cuts...you can behead it, but be sure to cut only the head off and not to waste any of the meat." She opened the box, pulled out a really stingy and pungent bug called the Latharos bug, which smelled like rotting meat and blood in the water, which on land was the aphrodisiac to the female of the species.

She needed only one, crushed it in her fist, and dropped it in the water, swirling her hand around before closing the box and tucking it back into her belt. She then grabbed the knife at her hip, and peered down into the water.

When she'd swam up to him, Zoro immediately stiffened, that glint her eyes a warning. He was starting to doubt his sanity in agreeing to this. It was just one bad reason after another for her to torture him with her feminine wiles. Her wet curls stuck to her face and neck, the bun falling apart a little, a few long mermaid ringlets clinging to her shoulders. All he could see was her shoulders and, unfortunately, the swell of her breasts in that bathing suit.

She darted around him and he nearly jumped out his skin when she laid her hands on him and slid the knife into his sash. He could feel the pressure of the steel along his back and ass and he had all his nerves spiking. She even had the audacity to pat him on the lower back.

He was still rocking from her as she reached into the bait bucket and crushed this awful smelling bug and dropped it into the water. Man, if he was a fish, he would not like that at all.

But it was a matter of moments before they started swarming. It started with little fish and little on the Grand Line was sticking pretty fucking big. Little out here was two feet long at least. The bigger ones came after and he couldn't keep his eyes in one spot, watching the fish surround them. They brushed against his legs and he jumped away from them slightly, shocked by how smooth the scales felt. It wasn't often he swam with fish…

"So, when do I get to kill something?" he demanded, his hand drifting towards the small of his back slightly.

Tikka let out a little laugh and swam closer to him again to take his free hand, and said quickly, "I usually wait for the big big ones to see if I only need to kill one fish, but we'll do a little practicing in delicately beheading fish so they don't spoil for eating."

So she tugged on his hand and dove, brining him with her, swimming deep and fast with her powerfully muscled legs and expert swimming techniques, though Zoro had more power behind his strokes, allowing him to keep up with her.

She let them practice for about ten minutes, and she could see he was a going to be pretty good at this, but then the big ones really got in your face and rubbed up against you with their sand-paper and thick skin. The dagger would be much more efficient then, and he'd stop trying to use his damn hands. She rolled her eyes at him in the water.

So when she grew bored on practicing and waiting for the big ones, she turned her eyes on Zoro again, and watched his muscles flex as he swam, clearly gloating in the fact that he was good at it, naturally.

So the next time they went under water, she waited until he might need to take a breath-which was impressively long, she'd come to find out-then swam towards him, swimming up in from of him, her eyes open, her hair flowing out around her like a halo of silken pearls, her eyes twinkling with mischief, and grabbed his face to plant a brief kiss on him, holding him in place when he would need to breath. Then she laughed and pushed him away, watching as he shot for the surface.

Chuckling in the water, she followed in a more leisurely pace, then crested the surface and turned her eyes to him to say, "You need to work on your lung capacity, especially in startling situations."

Man, she was being a major flirt today...She might be pushing her limit, but he was so damn irresistible. She totally blamed Loo and her father for depriving her of any contact with real men for all her life.

As the big ones gathered around the little fish and started to eat them, Zoro sucked in a breath before Tikka dragged him under the water to practice slaying fish under water, or as she called it, "the delicate act of beheading." It was backwards for him at first, so used to just slicing the shit out of his prey.

After a couple of bauched tries using his bare hands, he finally gave in and dragged the knife in his sash. He started to get the hang of it and was slicing and dicing fish left and right, his face reflective of his glee that he was actually pretty good at this thing. Of course he was. He killed things for a living. And he begrudgingly admitted that she was right.

He noticed that she was becoming bored when she started watching him more closely. She hadn't been going for any of these small fry, waiting for the sea kings and monstrous fish. He became instantly aware of her but tried to brush it aside as he gave up on the smaller fish and joined her in waiting for the larger prey. He wanted something so big that it could feed Luffy for a day… which wasn't an easy feat.

After about 15 minutes, he needed to resurface for air. He tucked the dagger back into his sash and was just about to kick for the surface when Tikka was suddenly in front of him, her hair floating around her ethereally in the water. He cocked his head at her in question, but she grabbed his face as an answer and planted a quick kiss on him.

His whole body flushed and the desire of oxygen became increasingly more desperate. She held him firm for another second, two seconds and when she released him, he shot for the surface, gasping and coughing. He looped his arm in the rope ladder, his knees weak suddenly. She surfaced, laughing at him and he gave her a black glare.

"What the hell are you doing to me, woman?" he growled, his chest heaving, but not only because he was underwater for so long, "Knock it off." She was flustering him at every turn! He couldn't stand it, especially because he kinda liked it. Damnnit!

Women were just plain difficult.

Tikka blushed at his reaction, because she was helplessly enamored with his flustered look, but she also couldn't pull back the little chuckle that burst from his lips. He was...fascinating. Man, men were so much grouchier than Loo...Mihawk didn't count, he was always serious, and Shanks was always happy.

She was about to drop the subject and give him a break for once, and tease him instead about his need to hold his breath more, but she was interrupted when a huge-ass fish suddenly appeared in the water, darkening the whole sea right below them from it's size.

A grin lit up her features.

"Alright, Zoro, you ready for some fun fishing? These suckers fight back, and their skin hurts, so be careful, and be fast. You'll have to swim a lot to avoid them because they charge you, and their skin it pretty tough. You have to cut them right at the gills that take their heads off delicately to ensure you enjoy the most MEAT as possible," she grinned, and dove.

Let the fun begin.

* * *

><p>Another day passed, and Loo had begun to follow her around suspiciously, so she went a whole day without being able to go near Zoro at all. When she did try, Loo suddenly appeared and asked her to train with him, or do his hair, or gossip, or tan with him, or some other excuse.<p>

So she'd given up for a bit and just hung out with Nami and Robin as Sanji waited on them with delicious drinks and snacks.

But when Loo finally went to bed, and she knew that Zoro had first watch and would be awake and on deck, possibly alone, she snuck out with the expertise of years of practice avoiding her nanny to spy on her father.

She emerged onto the deck with a breath full of fresh air and a sigh. Her eyes swung around, found Zoro by the mast, and she then slowly sauntered over. She drew her sword when she was closer, pointed it at the floor in front of him, and said with a small grin, "shall we train for a bit, sensei? Just to warm your blood for your watch? I've missed our sessions."

She actually had clothes on this time, her sash tied by her waist, her white shirt billowy and loose, her shirt tucked into her breeches and her trousers tucked into her boots. But her hair was down and wild, and because her shirt was loose, her cleavage and a bit of her red bathing suit was visible from the slit in the shirt. She couldn't help herself, she loved making him blush.

* * *

><p>They bagged a HUGE fish – "WHOA! Lookit all that MEAT!" Luffy had drooled excessively as they hauled the sea king up to the ship and Sanji had made them a fabulous dinner out of it – and for the next day after, Zoro had a reprieve from Tikka yet again as Loo made it his personal mission to keep them apart.<p>

All it did was give her a chance to steal heated glances at him that had a flush working over his cheeks and forced himself to invest more wholly in whatever his task was at that moment. It also gave him an opportunity to contemplate just what the HELL was going on between them. He liked her and he could no longer deny that the tightening in his stomach every time she looked at him was anticipation. Anticipation that she would do something to him to provoke that deep desire he had for her, that blood pumping, stomach tightening, nerve startling reaction he normally reserved for a fight. She juiced him up and he lived every second of the day waiting for her to give him that feeling.

And it was frustrating the hell out of him that she was stringing him along. Not that he was that savvy with woman, but where they going to do something about this thing between them? Or would she just leave him the hell alone?

He was the first watch tonight, something not normally reserved for him because Nami had so little faith in his skill of keeping them on a course, but tonight, she deemed it his fair share. So he was leaning against the mast pole, the sea was calm, and the sky was clear when he sensed her presence. She came up to him and without a word, took out her sword and pointed it to the ground in front of him, respectfully, and challenged him to a sparring match.

That was all it took for that anticipation to build inside him again. His eyes travelled up the length of the steel to meet her gaze, so confident, so thrilled at the idea of a fight. He couldn't deny her. He smirked and grabbed his bandana to wrap around his head, "You have indeed missed some training," he commented, standing and drawing his blades, "I won't go easy on you for it." He had this secret fascination with how she said 'sensei.' For some reason, it boosted his manly ego.

The sparring match began in earnest. He was harder on her than he should have been, partly born out of his frustration at her, the other part urged forward when she stood up against him so well. But she couldn't keep up with him for too long and within twenty minutes, he overpowered her, trapping her sword hilt and drawing her flush against his body, immobilizing her momentum, one of his blades angled up to pressed against the soft flesh of her neck.

"You'll never beat me," he pitched his voice low, his tone confident.

Though Tikka could tell fairly soon into the fight that Zoro was going to beat her, she simply loved fighting with him and so enjoyed the experience, right up until he finally unleashed the final blow, per se, and immobilized her with his body and his swords, bringing him flush with her.

Oh how she loved how often they seemed to find themselves in this position. Something about their styles just kept brining them together like magnets. Freaking sweet!

Her eyes flickered up to his face, and saw that he was essentially gloating in his confidence to beat her. She figured now was the perfect moment to break his concentration a little.

She dropped her sword to the side, harmless, and stepped up against Zoro to kiss him, but paused right before her lips met his to whisper, "would you consider this a bane...or a blessing...of your victory?"

She smiled, then kissed him again, her lips feathering over his, her breasts momentarily crushed up against his chest, before she dropped down and back. Thrice in two days? She was definitely pushing her luck, but that's what made it exciting. Tikka had never been patient at the best of times...

And wasn't this how one pursued a man? He didn't seem resisting, just...baffled by her.

* * *

><p>"Would you consider this a bane… or a blessing to your victory?"<p>

She sent lightning right to his toes with that simple brush of her lips over his. He didn't even attempt to kiss her back because he knew by now that it was going to be so fleeting that it wasn't worth it to try. She was going to tease him and then leave him here to drown in his emotions.

Not. Fucking. Tonight. He was so done with this.

A growl to vocalize his aggression was all the warning she got before he dropped his swords and grabbed her by her arms to back her up until they hit the railing of the ship. He braced his arms on either side of her, trapping her between him and the wood. His face was mere inches from hers.

"What the hell do you want from me, Tikka?" he rumbled, slinking a hand up to cup the nape of her neck, his fingers crushing the silken curls, "Are you trying to provoke me? Because you have." He slashed his mouth over hers, his hand on the back of her head holding her tight to him.

It was their hottest encounter yet, chest to chest, hip to hip, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth to taste her, like fire and ocean and everything else that made Tikka, Tikka. He was running on adrenaline, on the high she gave him. His heart hammering in his chest from their fight and from this and his head spinning. Why was he so damn affected by this girl?

Tikka had been about to turn away, possibly leave, because let's face it, she might like to provoke the beast, but she wasn't actually confident on how he'd really react if she gave him the chance, when his growl had her turning back to face him, just in time to have him pin her back against the railing with his body and cage her in with his arms.

Her heart thudded, her blood pressure spiked, and her breath hitched. His scent, his warmth, everything about him was all around her and she was hyper aware of it. The words he bit out only increased her that awareness. So far, this was a good reaction, she was betting.

But she was floored when he kissed her. No, claimed her, drugged her, dominated her, whatever it was, his kiss swept her mind away from everything and anything but him. This is what she'd been missing on her little island? Holy crap.

And they were pressed so close together, she could feel his hard body, the heat of him. She was already on fire from his kiss, but the feel of them pressed together again set her over the edge. She squirmed against him, unconsciously and very slightly rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat.

Her fingers curled into his shirt and she hung on for dear life, kissing him, sliding her tongue along his as electricity ran up and down her spine. She was mindless for this man; he tied her up in knots and she was helpless to him.

She reacted to Zoro exactly like he thought she would; she trembled, shifted, flexed against him like she couldn't get close enough. Fucked if he didn't feel the same way. He wanted to crawl inside her, skin to skin, rapid heartbeat against rapid heartbeat. She dragged out of him everything he bottled up and guarded against, the heat, the desire. He wanted to be consumed by her…

But… he also knew that she strung him along for days and he was sick of feeling like that, the ache due to lack of satisfaction.

It was with an impressive amount of self control and a will to keep his sanity that he pulled back from her and used her hair to pull her head to the side and whisper in her ear, "How does it feel, to want something you can't have?"

He back away from her, his eyes shadowed by his bandana and picked up his blades, slipping them into their holsters. Without a word to her, he grabbed the rope ladder to the Crow's Nest and climbed up, slicing the ropes when he was a good distance up so she couldn't follow him. He needed a break, some reprieve from her, from her intoxicating sexual allure that he still didn't understand fully. He also wanted her to understand what she did to him, leaving him high and dry all the time, flustering him and his cool resolve.

The sea wind felt good on his face, clearing away some of the fog only she instilled.

All of this was madness.

Tikka was in a complete and utter daze as Zoro climbed up the mast to the crows nest, cutting the rope, and left her to stew in her own desires.

Damn him!

Her body ached for him, an ache she'd never experienced before. It was like she couldn't touch him enough, couldn't get her body to touch his enough. Her cheeks were hot with lust, her eyes molten and drugged from his kiss.

She slid down the railing until her butt crashed to the deck. She had a feeling this would boost his damn ego, but she fanned herself to keep from swooning. He made her lightheaded and dizzy, thrilled and excited all at the same time.

And he just did this to her a left…?

Damn him twice!

But she had to admit, he was right. If this was how her kisses affected him, then she had been leaving him high and dry. She supposed that made her a tease…

A small smile crept up her lips and she sighed, finally pushing herself to her feet. She glanced up at the crows nest for a moment before shaking her head with a rueful smile. She sauntered towards the cabin, deciding that she needed to clear her own head for a while. She'd stop teasing Zoro, guessing that this display was to a prove a point.

Perhaps she had been pushing it to much. A feminine fear went through her; would he like her less?

Tikka told herself to stop being idiotic and pushed her hair out of her face. The action made her eyes land directly on Loo, who was standing suspiciously silently a few feet from her, leaning against the side of the cabin. From that vantage, he would have been invisible to them up on the deck.

"Uh...oh…" she groaned, and knew that she couldn't run from this talk she was about to receive. Loo was eyeing her with a very commanding expression, and slowly pointed one burly finger to the spot next to him.

Hanging her head, Tikka did as he commanded and plopped herself down on the deck. "Loo bear, I don't care what you say, I like him and that's that. And, like you already said, I'm grown up now."

"Honeycakes, you will never be grown up enough for that," Loo growled at her, batting his make-uped eyelashes, then sighing dramatically and hunkering down across from her, indian style. "Darling, the matters of the heart should not be treated lightly. It goes against everything manly inside of me," Tikka perked a brow at him, but he just shot her a quelling look and pushed on, "to not go up to that man and strangle him, but that goes against everything girly in me."

Tikka suppressed a laugh, looking down and letting her hair mask her expression.

"So...I'm going to give you the sex talk."

Tikka's eyes widened and she shot to her feet. But Loo knew her, and his hands shot out the same moment. She kicked with all her might and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Oh no you don't! Loo, let me go!"

The man shifted, for the first time exposing his fruit, and became a half bear half man giant, instantly suppressing her struggles with his inhuman strength. He picked her up and marched around the cabin and out onto the deck. Tikka's cheeks burned with embarrassment as Loo tossed her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, patting her butt, and marched, clear as day and obviously visible to anyone in the crow's nest, towards Loo's private quarters, the storage room, to lock her in and not let her out till he'd done his duty as her step-in-mother!

"Stop struggling, Tikka. It's not that bad, in fact, I think you'll be really interested once I get going," Loo assured her in a high pitched feminine tone, at odds with the rumbled that came from being in her bear form.

"Not talking about it with you I won't!" Tikka cried out and renewed her struggles. Desperate, she looked up to the crows nest in a plea for aid, but Loo was too fast, and already they disappeared into the ship, and Tikka was lost to all of the crew, even the enquiring Nami who'd come to investigate the yelling, for the rest of the night.

Commotion broke out on the deck. Zoro leaned his head over the railing with a curious eye to see that Tikka was being manhandled – er, bear handled – by Loo across the deck, screaming and kicking. Their conversation was loud and clear.

"Stop struggling, Tikka! It's not that bad. You'll be really interested once I get going," Loo's voice was an odd mix between high pitched feminine and deep growl that was oddly disconcerting.

"Not talking about it with you I won't!" she shrieked back, pounding her little fists against her nanny's back. The door to the storage room was thrown open and slammed shut with finality and all her screaming was instantly muffled.

Well. What was that about? A shot of panic went through him. Did that bear man see them kissing? Great… first he was going to yell at Tikka… then Zoro was next.

A laugh sounded from the helm deck and he turned his head to see Nami in her pajamas, leaning against the railing. Apparently, she had been drawn out by the whole spectacle, "Did you see that, Zoro?" she called, a secretive smirk about her.

"Yeah," he replied, "What was that all about?"

She laughed, waving her hand like this was a huge entertainment show, "I think Loo's about to give her the sex talk. You better watch your back, swordsman," and with another chuckle, something a little maniacal for her character, she gave him a jaunty wave and headed back into her cabin.

Zoro paled, then his face exploded with color. He flickered his eyes back to the storage room door. The… sex… talk?

* * *

><p>AN- Please leave a review! Enjoy :)


	10. 10 Acrobatics and Kissing Politics!

Tikka experienced torture like no other that evening, and almost passed out from the amount of blood rushing to her cheeks all night. When she finally escaped from the storeroom, where they'd made a cot and everything for Loo, it was very late. She went straight to her room, to horrified to face anyone.

Which was lucky, because another storm hit in the morning, delaying their travel by a day as they wrestled it out while managing to stay on track. Everyone was too busy to talk most of that day, and she managed to seclude herself for another day to ease off her embarrassment. Why did Loo always incite her to make a scene out of things like that. Though, usually, there weren't PEOPLE around to witness these scenes, most of the time.

Eventually, though, she forced herself to go out in public again. She was dressed in her gymnastics training outfit; tight black pants and her red bathing suit top. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, her sword still strapped down her back. Luffy grinned at her as she came out to do some acrobatics exercises, but then he became too stunned as she lifted her leg until it pointed completely strait up in the air, a split while standing up straight.

"WOAH!" He exclaimed, his head falling to the side to watch her sideways, his mouth open in awe.

Tikka rolled her eyes at him, turned her back to him, then promptly bent all the way down, bending herself into a pretzel with her chest pressed flat against her knees and her leg which had been pointing up in the air now pointing perpendicular to the ground. Finally, she swung her perpendicular leg back and around, straight out, and bend her other leg at the knee slightly.

Pausing for a moment to gather the fortitude and the breath, she suddenly lept up and around into a back flip, 360 degrees, landing in a light crouch, her arms out on either sides.

Her mother had been even better than her, a true acrobatic gymnast, and it was why she'd been deadly.

Not deadly enough, though.

She sighed. It was the only reason her father had allowed her to learn the ways of the sword as a child. Because he hoped that if he could combine his talents with those of his late wife, then his daughter would have a better chance to survive in this crazy world.

"That's amazing!" Nami said, sitting up in her tanning chair nearby and lifting up her sunglasses.

Tikka straightened, and blushed, suddenly bashful. Nami was such an amazing woman to Tikka that she sort of intimidated her, so she was surprised to hear such a high praise.

"I can teach you a little, if you want…" Tikka offered, scuffing her pair feet and shifting slightly, betraying her anxiety a little.

Nami's eyes widened. "Really? I could do that? Noooo...I don't think…"

"Oh you wouldn't be quite as flexible, maybe, but you definitely could. It takes practice. We could work at it through some exercises and arobics moves for a few hours. It's sorta like tai chi, very relaxing, and it stretches your muscles. The more you do it, the better you get."

"I taught her that," Loo announced happily, and kicked his leg up all the way up and over his head, smiling smugly, before dropping his limb back down. Luffy was staring at everyone in awe, then tried the move himself. His rubbery body was more flexible than anyones, and his leg shot high into the sky.

Both Nami and Tikka shook their head at him, then turned back to their conversation. "Alright, I'll give it a try!"

Tikka grinned and clapped her hands, and started explaining the most basic of exercises.

* * *

><p>Tikka was exhausted as the sun started to set, but very satisfied, and very limber. She knew that they were to arrive on the island soon, in the morning or following afternoon. She was saddened to see Loo go, but also glad. She wanted to embrace being a pirate without her Nanny watching over her.<p>

And also, she was so excited for a bath. She'd heard of this island, once Nami had described it, and knew there to be a beautiful lagoon in the center of the island. Her father had visited once and told her stories of his stay there. He'd kept her mother there for a time.

She wanted to go swimming there so badly!

Needing to cool off and wash off the sweat that had perspired on her skin under the hot sun, Tikka wandered over to the end of the boat, and promptly dove in.

She taken to keeping the ladder down while on the open sea, so once she felt refreshed, she hurried on up, then on the deck shimmied out of her black pants, moving to the edge of the boat to squeeze out the water, leaving her in her bikini top and bottoms for the meantime. She hung the pants out the dry in the secure cabinet that Usop had built her, then sauntered down the deck towards the ship, taking her time, stretching her arms up over her head.

Roronoa Zoro hardly felt guilt over anything. He spilled so much blood, killed so many people, did many bad deeds in his life under very little moral standing. There are just a handful of times in his left where he felt that gnawing sensation in his stomach that meant that the ugly monster of shame was eating his stomach and riding him hard.

He still didn't fully understand the why of it, but he knew it was over Tikka. He cornered her, kissed her senseless and left them both panting and wishing for cooler nights. But he only did that because she did it to HIM first. She flustered him like fuck and he hated it. The only thing he hated more than being flustered and bothered is a scar across the back.

Leaving her hot and bothered had a strange sense of boding over him though. Kinda like… he would HATE to ever show his back to an enemy. He would never slice anyone in the back, just like he would despise someone doing it to him. Shameful. So if he hated being flustered so much, why did he do it to her? It was beyond his moral code and he supposed that that was why he was agitated over it.

Not even mentioning what went down this morning. Zoro woke up from a nap to find that Nami and Tikka, both very sexy women, bar none, were doing some sort of stretching acrobatics and Luffy was oogling them from his perch on the deck railing. At first, Zoro watched his captain, who went from insane with interest to pensive in a heartbeat, his expression serious. Not that Zoro was putting any assumptions to anything, but he happened to notice it was when Nami stopped observing Tikka and started doing the stretches herself. It wasn't long after that that the rubber man pounded one fist into the palm of his hand and muttered something about "mystery feeling" with some finality and darted away. Zoro, however, leaned his forearms against the railing and watched.

He was seriously impressed, though, kept his face neutral. He was a flexible dude; it came with having your full time job be the way of the sword, but she was on a whole different level from him. She was… made of gumby except she wasn't. She could do things with her body he'd only ever seen Luffy do. And that man was literally gumby.

And once the shock and awe campaign had worn off, he started to pick up on other subtleties, like how she would laugh and crinkle her nose at Nami or how when she laid her forehead against her knee, she would turn her face so her cheek rested there and close her eyes, like it was the best thing in the world. He noticed that in the humidity, the mermaid ringlets on the back of her neck would become so curly he thought he could bounce them like little springs. And when she flickered her eyes, molten gold, up to him for the briefest moment, his heart dropped into his stomach and digested.

That was when he had to turn around and leave, thoroughly freaked.

Now, he was leaning against the wall of the upper cabin, his form hidden in the shadows cast by the setting sun and watched as she dove into the water and climbed back up ladder a few moments later. She stripped out of her pants and rung them out and then hung them up to dry. She moved so naturally, so fluidly. She headed up the stairs in his direction, but she wasn't looking out for him. An overwhelming desire to talk to her for the first time really, in twenty four hours, had him shifting ever so slightly. What was he supposed to say to her? Sorry I left you high and dry the other night? Oh, and how did you sex talk go with your crazy mama bear?

Oh man… he had to think about that… he gave it a brutal shove out of his mind. He couldn't even go there. Tikka straight was hard to handle at the best of times. Tikka topless had been difficult to swallow. Tikka kissing him was out of the question. Tikka naked and in the throes of passion – because he wasn't stupid, he knew allllll about it, no thanks to his bounty hunter buddies and that damned cook and Luffy's endless questions – was maddening to comprehend.

A vicious wave of jealousy went through him, misguided and misplaced. Had she been with other men, he wondered? He seriously doubted it, seriously, seriously, what with her childhood captivity and mad-as-a-hatter nanny and her frightening father, but just the THOUGHT had him gripping the hilt of his swords with a white-knuckle grip, the itch to kill someone paramount. It was irrational. God damnit! He was being irrational; cool, collected Zoro was irrationalized by this woman…

She stretched her arms over her head as she mounted the last of the stairs, wearing just that heinous bathing suit while her clothes dried. In the setting sun, she looked like she was on fire, her white hair reflecting the color and her skin tinged a golden-red.

Tikka mounted the last of the steps and paused, looking out across the horizon to the setting sun, and smiled, wishing she'd brought her hat to shield her eyes. She'd love to stay out and watch the sunset. Mayhaps she'd go get it and sit out for an hour or two...do something OTHER than obsess about the swordsman. Clearly, she'd botched that a little.

Or at least, she thought she might have. She was so confused by him, in every way.

She sighed and turned back towards the deck, and her heart skipped a beat and she paused again when she spied, low-and behold-Zoro. She drew in a breath to fortify herself and kept walking calmly, her face sliding into a soft, though somewhat coy and mischievous, smile as she approached him.

He looked devastating to her, every day more attractive to her than the last. Was it because she wanted him more every day? How silly…

But still, for some reason his eyes had a vicious glow, as if whatever he was thinking about really riled him up, and his knuckles tightened on his sword. Her stomach clenched, butterflies brushed up along her spine.

She was headed to check the fishing lures she'd set at the back of the boat, and he was by the narrow corridors between the cabin that lodged the kitchen and the edge of the boat.

Unconsciously, her body simply melted at the sight of him, and her step subtly acquired a more liquid, seductive gait. Her eyes flickered up to his face, and she murmured, "Evening, Zoro,"

But she'd learned her lesson, so she made sure not to touch him, and strode calmly past him, and towards the back of the boat.

As she past him, she could practically feel the heat of his passing body, and she certainly smelled his delicious scent. A small shiver raced up and down her spine.

Zoro had noticed when she'd spotted him, her hawkeyes catching his movement like no other could and he watched her slow her step, like she planned to stop, but thought better of it. Something about her though was just downright sexy. She confused the fuck out of him, but she thrilled him too. The saunter in her hips, the mischievous smile, how her eyes dipped over him tingled him right to his toes. The shot of jealousy he felt was redirected; he let go of his sword and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Evening, Tikka," he replied.

He considered saying more, but she walked right on passed him towards the prow of the boat and the action infuriated him for some reason. After all that, she did every single thing in her power to be in his face, gathering his attention twenty four/seven and now, she just waltzed right on by him? Perhaps she had taken his point to heart…

It didn't surprise him when he felt physically upset that she'd taken him seriously. He might hate being caught off guard all the time by her; it didn't mean that he didn't like kissing her. Just the thought sent goosebumps up his arms.

How had this...thing...developed between them?

Before she got more than three paces by him, his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist in a death lock. For a heartbeat, he stared at where his hand wrapped around her wrist, like he was surprised by his own actions and doubted his intentions. Then, before he could do anymore second guessing, he tugged her around so that she was sandwiched between him and the wall, his forearms repositioned on either side of her head.

"I told you that you provoked me… you didn't ask whether I liked it or not…" he told her, his voice a deep rumble. Then, he leaned down and captured her mouth again, his kiss still dominating and aggressive, but fueled with less ferocity than the night before. He took his time...

Tikka's body was tense with awareness despite her best intentions, and she had just started to feel like her little test was over, when suddenly a strong hand wrapped around her wrist. Her head snapped up and her eyes had sought out the perpetrator.

Zoro didn't give her time to think. He tugged her around, and she found her back pressed up against the wall and Zoro's body pressing in close his arms caging her in and enveloping her body with heat.

Between a wall and a...rock...hard set of abs.

She opened her mouth to ask him what, exactly, he meant by this, but she didn't get a chance to. His merciless lips descended down onto hers, and she burst into flames.

He consumed her. She could never imagine the strength of her reaction to his. Everything about him turned her on. He smelled good, he tasted good, he FELT good.

Her hands instinctively slid up his chest, her nails lightly dragging over the material of his shirt, until one hand could slid around his neck and pull him down deeper into her lips as she arched her body up into his, needing to be closer to him.

Her other hand changed directions, and slid back down his chest, wanted to touch to delectable abs, even through a shirt. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, her fingers traced over each ridge of his abs, traveling lower, lower until her fingers brushed against the green sash securing his swords to his hips.

Her breath hitched, her head fell back a little, and she drew in a breath, trying to steady herself. He made her so dizzy.

Zoro didn't know how that little body of hers had so much heat and flame stored inside of it. She kissed him with so much fervor, transferring that heat to him so that it began to build into a fever pitch. It was overwhelming, devouring him whole.

Her hands braced flat against his chest like she was in desperate need of space between them and her palms were the barrier. But instead of pushing him back, she dragged her hand up his chest to hook around the back of his neck and pull him even closer to her. She arched up to meet him halfway, her breasts against his chest and he could feel the physical heat from her body. It only added to the lightning in his blood.

Her deft fingers traced over every muscle under the material of his shirt as she travelled lower, across his stomach and even lower until she stopped at the sash around his hips. His body begged her to keep touching him, to feel her work over him like she was, his mind so enflamed that it could do little to keep up with his body. He took his gumption from her though, his arms going from trapping her in to drifting down until he could cup the nape of her neck and thread his fingers through her curls. His other hand snaked around her waist, the bare skin of his arm meeting the naked skin of her torso and the contact was scorching. His hand literally spanned her ribcage of her small frame.

* * *

><p>He was STARVING. He couldn't TAKE IT anymore!<p>

It didn't matter than he'd had dinner like, an hour ago. He needed MEAT. He needed it NOW.

Luffy shuffled his way along the deck from where he had been having a post-dinner nap on the masthead. And now he craved some post-nap snackage. He rubbed his bleary eyes and headed down the corridor alongside the cabin and paused when he saw someone at the other end. Judging by the height and the silhouette of the three scabbards, he guessed… Zoro.

He opened his mouth to call out to him when something suspicious about his master swordsman tickled the back of his mind. There was something off about Zoro, maybe it was the way he was standing, or the fact that he didn't notice Luffy first…

The captain took a couple of steps closer and the ship shifted slightly, the shadows in the corridor temporarily chased away as the sun came around. And what he saw had his jaw dropping to the deck. Literally.

Zoro... was totally kissing Tikka. They had their hands all over each other!

Luffy sucked up his jaw and a wicked smirk crept over his face. He knew something was going on between those two… or, well, Nami knew something was going on and shared it with him. What would she say now?

Oh, he couldn't wait to tell her.

Luffy reeled his arm back and extended it out, silent as the morning fog, and thwapped Zoro hard on the back between his shoulder blades. The swordsman snapped his head up and jumped back from Tikka like she was the plague. His gaze lit on Luffy and turned murderous.

"I will stab you…" he growled, but his face was redder than the captain's shirt.

"I'm telling Nami…" Luffy chuckled wickedly.

"I will kill you, captain or not."

The grin got bigger, "I'm still telling Nami…" then, with a gleeful laugh, he turned heel and booked it before the swordsman got serious and had the chance to stab him. He didn't stop until he barged into the navigator's study, where she was making a map. A bottle of ink spilled all over her creation.

"Guess WHAT?" he told her, not at all put out by her lethal expression, "I just saw ZORO kissing TIKKA…"

* * *

><p>Tikka was crazy for this man. Her father would be skinning him right now if he was here.<p>

It only added fuel to her motivation to get stronger, to stand up to her daddy.

Zoro's hand travelled down her body, pulling her closer, touching her skin and making her body melt. Was this really happening? Her mind whirled from it.

The hand on his stomach slid around his side to his back, and she tugged them closer, pressing her body up against his, her wet swimsuit making it painfully obvious of her breasts against his hard chest.

One moment, he was there, the next, he was gone. Her eyes flashed open, her cheeks rosy with color, her lips parted, her chest rising a falling rapidly with her heated breath. Her eyes flickered up to find Zoro glaring, and followed the glare to find Luffy staring at them with wide, surprised, and excited eyes.

Well, Zoro certainly looked flustered. He'd moved away from her so fast, it was like she was diseased. Or, like a guy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Her heart beat finally slowed down a bit, and a small smile curved her lips. That made her a delicious treat then.

Luffy ran off, yelling about telling Nami. Tikka wasn't so sure if this was a good thing or not, but she wasn't too concerned. She genuinely liked Zoro, and she saw no harm in exploring that.

She wondered how others would feel…

Her eyes flickered back to Zoro, red face, and her smile widened. She sauntered up to him, her hips swinging seductively, and reached up to cup his jaw with her hand. She bit her lip, her eyes dancing, then murmured, "I guess I got you into some trouble, swordsman…"

Heat stealing into her cheeks again, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, her tongue sliding between his lips in a heated exchange, one that had her gut tightening and her head spinning.

Finally, she pulled back, and whispered against this lips, "I'll have to make it worth it then."

Practically shaking with the nerve it had taken to do that, she stepped away from him, winked, then walked off, towards her lines, long overdue to be checked.

* * *

><p>Nami was enjoying some rare peace and quiet, feeling a little sore, but definitely relaxed from today's activities.<p>

She was about to dip her pen into the ink well when suddenly her door banged open, hard enough that she jumped a little and the bottle of ink toppled over, spilling ink all over her beautiful creation.

Her eyes turned murderous and she shot to her feet, spinning around with a yell and reaching out to smack Luffy, hard, over the head.

He hit the floor with an oompf, but recovered quickly enough. Only then did she process the words he'd been gleefully yelling before he'd interrupted her work.

"Tikka and Zoro?" she asked, blinking, and unconsciously her eyes flickered down to Luffy's lips, then back up to his eyes. She turned away, shaking her head and acting nonchalant.

"Are you surprised after the row that Loo and Tikka had the other night after Zoro and Tikka were suspiciously alone on the deck?" Nami said with an irritated scowl, looking down at her work.

Jeeze, she'd liked Luffy, at least, she'd started to admit to herself that she liked Luffy, for a little while now, but seeing him after the two year break had confirmed it. Zoro and Tikka have known each other for a couple of weeks and they've already kissed?

Nami felt pathetic. But Luffy just seemed so clueless...no way he'd figure out any advance.

"Luffy, go bother someone else about this new. I have to try to salvage anything I can that you didn't ruin," she shot him a look, rolled her eyes, and turned back to her table, but her heart was beating a little faster in her chest.

Luffy rubbed the spot on his head furiously after Nami smacked him, sitting on the floor of her room with a pout on his face. His straw hat had been knocked off and it dangled over the back of his shoulders, secured by the tether over his neck. Geez. It was just a stupid map…

"Well, I didn't really understand it…" he reasoned back to her thoughtfully in regards to the commotion from the night before. He supposed in retrospect he should have. But it just never crossed his mind that there was romance on his ship. Or if he would approve of it or not.

Though, it didn't hurt anyone. Except Zoro, who was about to be teased mercilessly for it.

She turned her back to him and gave him a flippant wave over her shoulder, saying something about needing time to salvage any work he didn't ruin. He was a simple man, not stupid. She was upset for some reason; and he knew it wasn't about the map.

"Nami…" he tried again, his voice more serious, "Are you alright?" he stood and brushed off his shorts. Ever since the crew got back together for the first time in two years, she seemed off. He tried to chalk it up to the fact that two years had gone by since he'd seen her and that she was different because of time. But he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that, because sometimes, the old Nami would show through. The rest of the time… she was tense.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame to eye her suspiciously, not saying a word, but not looking like he was about to leave either.

* * *

><p>Nami tensed up even more when Luffy didn't immediately leave like she was expecting but instead asked her if she was alright.<p>

How the hell did she answer that? She pushed away from the table and looked right at him, her heart jumping up to lodge itself somewhere in her throat. When Luffy wasn't being a complete clown, he was devastating, his hair falling over his eyes just a little, his muscled arms cross over his chest…

'Courage, Nami...courage...now's the time…' she told herself, drawing in a breath to fortify herself. 'He actually looks serious right now…'

"I…" she started, and heat flooded her cheeks, and her knees got a little shaky.

And, like always, her courage failed her.

Her fingers curled into little fists, hidden behind her body, and she forced on a cheerful, believable smile before tilting her head to the side and waving a hand at him yet again. "Of course I'm alright, Luffy...don't be silly, it's just a map."

That and something else entirely...something bad that had happened over the two year time they'd been separated. Something she hadn't quite been able to get rid of since rejoining her crew.

She pushed away from the table, caching that thought out of her mind, knowing she had to get out of this room. It was too small with him in it, but to leave she had to get closer to him. "We should be at the island soon, and there is a village on this one, so get ready for lots of food."

She knew saying that would distract him. She needed him to be distracted. Sometimes he looked at her with eyes that knew too much, like right now. How was he so damn perceptive about everything about her? So she put a heavy emphasis on the word food, then when it came time to slipping past him in the door, she couldn't help but touch him. And not only because he was blocking most of the door, but because as much as she was a coward, he was damn delicious and she still wanted him so badly it hurt.

So her hand splayed flat over his stomach, her blood spiking at the feel of his muscles, and pushing him out of her way, until she could march past him and down the hallway, telling herself to play it cool.

Because, in the end, the reason she always lost the courage was because Luffy was basically her best friend, and she couldn't risk the relationship they already have for the small chance of a better one.

* * *

><p>His heart was still racing from Luffy's surprise visit, his face red, his adrenaline making his muscles jump around when Tikka sauntered up to him. He eyed her out of the corner of his eyes but she pressed right up to him and grabbed his chin in her hands, turning her to face him. His adrenal gland gave him a big old 'fuck you' and his blood pressure demanded a doctor at the look she gave him.<p>

The kiss she gave him again rocked him to his core, desire for her hit him so hard he was breathless from it. He didn't even have time to hook onto her to keep her there next to him when she let him go with a wink and sashayed away to check on her fishing lines, leaving him standing there quivering in his boots. Trouble indeed…

The following morning, He had dish duty with Sanji before they arrived at the island and he would have rather died a hundred times than face that humiliation all over again. Damn that stupid, arrogant, prick. Made him feel like such a loser and at the same time, teased him relentlessly. And it wasn't helped when Luffy joined them in the kitchen with a silly smirk. The captain didn't even have to say anything; just his presence made Zoro's face flame.

They couldn't reach the island soon enough.

* * *

><p>AN- Enjoy! Some of Nami's story begins to take shape here :)


	11. 11 Loo Departs! Bakeries and Parties!

Loo found him alone only an hour or so before they would arrive at the island. The bear-man had a feeling that Zoro had been avoiding him, but he couldn't hide from the Loo Bear, especially not concerning his precious charge Tikka Baby.

So when he'd finally been able to corner the guy, he took it. It helped that Zoro was up on the top of the mast, watching the approaching island like he couldn't wait to get away from the looks and the teasing.

Well, that's all nice and dandy, but if he so much as hurt one hair, emotional or physical, on Tikka's body, Loo was going to take away those swords from him and beat him senseless.

Loo figured he wouldn't be able to run away in the crow's nest. The bear shifted into his full bear form, the one that was excellent at climbing masts, and shimmied his way up until he shifted back to his human form and hoisted himself up and onto the edge of the crow's nest, right in front of Zoro.

"Mr. Swordsman, I would have a word…" Loo rumbled, and all traces of the feminine were gone. His eyes were hard as steel, his voice deep, thick, and dire. Like all good animals, he'd puffed himself up to his largest size until he blotted out the whole sea in front of Zoro.

"I'm not deaf, Roronoa Zoro," he pronounced Zoro's name each syllable at a time, his eyes glinting like steel, even the make-up didn't detract from the ferocity coming off of him in waves. "And I also happen to love gossip...so I know what's going on between you and my girl Tikka."

Like lightning, moving much too fast for a man his size, Loo leapt over the railing and into the small crows nest, practically taking up all of the room, and grabbed Zoro by the shirt, shoving him up against the mast head and easily holding him two feet above the floor.

"And I really just wanted to remind you that she's very important to some very powerful people, two of which you now know. So you treat her like a fucking princess and protect her with more than your life. And if you have no intention of doing so, then you walk away right now and never touch or look at her again. Are we clear?"

Loo perked an eyebrow at Zoro, but didn't put the man down.

* * *

><p>Luffy still watched her with narrowed eyes as she walked by him, placing her hands on his stomach to squeeze by him. She still felt off to him. Her smile was too falsified. He'd seen too many happy Nami days to not know the difference. And she was trying to distract him with food, which was a good ploy, because he did love to eat almost as much as he loved to adventure. She wasn't fooling him, though, he would make a good effort for her.<p>

"Mmm… food," he agreed with her anyway, "It's just a map. You can make more," he pulled off his straw hat and plopped it on her head and pushed off the door frame. He could smell Robin making coffee. And if Robin was making coffee, that meant that Sanji would make a snack for her too. And while Sanji was in the kitchen, he could stand it to make Luffy something too, considering before he caught Zoro and Tikka doing the Nasty a few minutes, ago, that was exactly where he'd been headed.

He paused at the top of the stairs to glance back at Nami. She'd wandered to the deck and was staring out in the ocean, one arm crossed underneath her breasts and the other holding his hat to her head in the wind. Her long copper waves tangled down her back, wrapping around the straps off her bikini top. Yep. Something was up with her. He remembered feeling like this before, this anxiety over her. But it was so long ago, back when she was two timing it with Arlong.

He made a decision to watch her closely in case she tried to ditch him and shoved open to the door to the kitchen, demanding food from his cook.

* * *

><p>"TIKKAAAAAAA!"<p>

Luffy launched off the ship and hit the beach with so much force that he had to wrench his feet out of the sand. Then, he hooked arms with the hawkeyed female, "There's food here, right? You said there was good food here and I'm STARVING! Take me to the FOOOOOOOD!"

Zoro needed to be off the ship like he needed oxygen. Between his row with Loo last night and the teasing this morning, he had to save some face and get the fuck away from everyone before he ran someone through.

He feared nothing in his life except what was important to fear, but he did panic sometimes and when he'd seen that two ton bear climbing the mast pole for him, Zoro had considered diving into the ocean to escape him. He'd known it was a matter of time since he'd seen the nutty nanny drag Tikka away that night that Loo would come for him. So he'd made the decision to stand his ground and take whatever the she-male had to dish out.

Which had been stringing Zoro up and threatening limb and other anatomically male body parts.

Blinking away the memory, Zoro sighed. A creeping sensation washed over him, a feeling he'd come to associate seconds before Robin performed her little bloom bloom tricks and sure enough, a hand snaked out of his back and landed on his shoulder. He turned to see that she was standing calmly by the ship and everyone else was taking off in the other direction; Luffy and Tikka arm and arm, singing about food.

"Town's that way," Robin stated, nodding her head. She too, headed after the others, leaving him to trail along behind them.

Nami, Sanji, Franky and Robin started discussing the first places they'd like to go in town. Chopper was on Usopp's shoulders and Luffy and Tikka led the way with Loo. Nami had the straw hat dangling around her shoulders, which was good because with the hat, Luffy was super identifiable. Zoro kept his head down and debated whether or not he should just head back to the ship and get a little peace. Tikka looked well enough; she had Luffy with her and most likely they would just head to get some grub. Zoro didn't have to hang around her constantly… though he'd gotten used to it in the two weeks they were stranded together. She'd be alright with the captain though. She could take care of herself.

Crew members started branching off. Robin headed for the bookstore, Sanji to the market and Nami to the clothing boutiques. Luffy pointed dramatically at something and Tikka shook her head at him. The rubber man shrugged and within seconds, he was gone, departing from her in pursuit of something tasty he scented.

Baka… now she was alone. And he had nowhere to go but to follow her, he supposed. Loo had disappeared to obtain a ship; not without first pointing two fingers below his eyes and then at Zoro with an "I'm watching you" look.

* * *

><p>Luffy and Tikka were both very excited about the food smells wafting out of this city, and both had taken off together in hopes of finding it. Luffy pointed to a Kabab stand, where she could see he was clearly after all of the meat being delectably displayed by the owner. Tikka shook her head, explaining that she was looking for a bakery.<p>

"Why would you want bread when you could have MEAT?" Luffy asked, clearly confused as he stared at her with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Because the bakery I want to find is one my papa took my mama to before I was born...it's supposed to be delicious!" Tikka told him, tugging on his shirt and pointing down a road that looked promising.

"Suit yourself, Tikka, but I want MEAT." And within moments, Luffy was gone.

Tikka laughed, she couldn't help herself, and felt bad for the meat vendor. She turned, instead, towards the road that looked to be full of bakers. Smiling to herself, she tipped her plumed hat back and started marching down the street with a purpose.

She'd gotten three feet before Loo was suddenly in front of her. "Loo bear," Tikka greeted with a smile. The man grinned back and fluttered his lashes ridiculously, and held up a beefy hand to point.

"Found myself a beautiful ship!" He exclaimed, and Tikka peered over to find that the ship...was bright pink. Her mouth popped open in surprise, then she burst out laughing, almost falling to the ground in the throws of her amusement.

"I think it's beautiful! It was on sale because apparently no one else wanted it! I got it for such a good price!" Loo bragged, reaching up to fluff his hair a little, and earning Tikka a droll chuckle.

"So I'm going to leave now...I've already said my goodbyes to your crew," Loo finished, folding his massive arms over his massive chest.

"You're leaving already?" Tikka asked, reaching up to grab his arm and pout.

"You're father will be worried. I have to go tell him that you've joined the crew...I know he won't be happy, but perhaps I can stall him enough to give you the time you need," Loo winked at her, and Tikka flushed happily, until she realized he meant something else. Her cheerfulness shrank back from the acidity that replaced it.

"The time is for bettering my skills, Loo, not for anything else," she reminded him sweetly.

"Sure, baby doll. Now, you let me know if that swordsman gives you any issues...and if he does, I'll string him up by his insides," Loo told her with a smile, one with a feral gleam to it. Tikka laughed again, then reached up to hug her protector. Loo lifted her up off her feet, spun her around, then put her back down again, reaching out to tip up her chin and peer at her under the brim of her hat.

"Take care Tikka baby," Loo told her gently, then gave her a last kiss on her cheek, and headed for his ship.

Tikka felt her chest tightening with tears, but pushed past them to look back at her goal...the bakeries. She couldn't think about Loo now, or she'd get homesick...and she had too many adventures to go on to be homesick.

Drawing in a breath, she fixed her hat, and set off down the road.

At every bakery, she stopped in the window and stared inside, looking for the clues her father had left for her in his tales. Nope...nope...not that one…

"There certainly are a lot of bakeries here…" she muttered to herself, turning from one bakery to the next. "And they're all so similar…"

"I can help you. Looking for something in particular, lovely lady?" A deep voice came from behind her. She whirled around, her hand instantly going up to the hilt of her sword, which was partially concealed under her hair and by her wide-brimmed hat. "Are you here by yourself?" The man was clearly a local, she could tell by the accent everyone around here seemed to have. His hair was jet black, long, and pulled back into a cue at the back of his neck. His eyes were a rich brown, his chin sporting a small goatee. He was much taller than her, and she had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

"Um, at the moment, but I'm with my friends," she added with a smile, relaxing her grip on the hilt and dropping her hand. Just because she was a pirate didn't mean she couldn't socialize. Maybe this guy could help her find the bakery.

"I see...well, if you'd like, I could give you a tour of the bakeries...what are you looking for?" He asked, stepping closer to her. She had her back to a bench, and though she felt like he was standing very close to her, she didn't step back, both because her legs would hit the bench, and also because she didn't want to be rude. She really wanted to know where this bakery was, and no one else seemed to know or care.

"Well, I'm looking for a bakery which makes these pastries filled with rooble berries and topped with honey and almonds...it's supposed to be one of the best foods in the world," Tikka told him, a smile brightening her face as she quoted her father on his description of the desert.

"I know where you can find that...my name is Clarken, by the way...and what may I call a beautiful lady like yourself?" Clarken asked, tilting his head to the side and watching her with twinkling eyes. He seemed very excited for very little reason...he was just helping her find a bakery, for goodness sake. She didn't need him to be hitting on her or something.

She shrugged. _Maybe he really loved baked goods,_ she told herself dryly. At his question, though, she tilted her head back, her shoulders straightening in pride, and said, "My name is Dracule Ratikka, but you can call me Tikka." Using her father's name always gave her so much pride, but the guy clearly hadn't heard of him, because he barely bat an eyelash.

Instead, his smile broadened and he reached out to take her hand, suddenly, and flourished out a hand to bow over her hand and placed a gentle kiss across her knuckles. She blinked at him, wondering what the hell he was doing. For some reason, it reminded her of something Loo would do. Were all men like Loo? Aside from Shanks, she'd never really been around people, so she wasn't sure what the customs are like. He seemed perfectly confident in what he was doing that she didn't pull her hand away, like she wanted to.

Instead, she shrugged, clearly put-off, but he wasn't looking, and by the time he raised his eyes, she'd already begun thinking of the delicious pastries, and was smiling at the thought of eating the delectable treat. She did love food, after all.

"So where is this bakery?" she asked, snapping to attention, and also trying to hurry this little greeting along, but the guy mistook it for a show of interest. He straightened and flashed his teeth in a smile.

"Right this way, beautiful," he told her, and as she turned in the direction he was indicating, he came up behind her, his eyes dragging slowly over her well-formed butt and up over her hips and tiny waist, drinking her in. Tikka, oblivious with her head turned towards the bakeries, was getting excited and started chatting about how delicious she expected the desert to taste.

Clarken slid up beside, her, uncomfortably close but again Tikka felt unsure about what to do. She wanted to smack him with her sword, but she was pretty sure that would give her away as a pirate or something. She couldn't stop herself from stiffening, however, when the man suddenly dropped an arm over her shoulders and drew her in close to his body, leaning her head away as he leaned down to say, "Oh, it will be more delicious than you can imagine."

Ooookay...time to find out where this bakery was, and get the hell out of here. Even if it was rude, she couldn't stand this guy anymore.

Not too far away, Zoro had been following behind Tikka for a while, glancing around aimlessly. He was slowly catching up to her as she stopped here and there, peering into windows. She didn't seem to notice that he was nearby.

A display in a window caught his attention and he stopped and backtracked. His eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped. A sword store. Oh man. It was swordsman heaven. There was even a place where they'd sharpen and repair swords.

"Hello, young man," the store owner came out of the shop, his apron covered in dust and coals, "Can I interest you in anything today?" he took in Zoro's three swords at his hip and the green hair and he felt a tingle of awareness shimmer through him. Here it comes… "Are you… you're Roronoa Zoro, aren't you?"

"Nope," Zoro replied, "Got the wrong guy." He didn't need a whole damned town chasing after him again.

"But… you have his hair color and carry three swords…" the owner eyed him suspiciously.

"I wanna be just like him," Zoro continued, his voice monotonous, "So, you sharpen swords here?"

"Yes… a thousand beris a sword. Takes about ten minutes per blade."

Zoro nodded, glancing back at the window. Man, he really should stop and get his swords sharpened… they needed it.

A reflection in the window caught his attention and he looked closer. It was Tikka, unmistakable with her platinum hair but someone else was with her. Zoro whipped around and saw that she was being led down the street by another man. She was all smiles and he could hear her voice drifting up the street. She was gossiping about finding a bakery and the man draped his arm over her shoulder and heard none of her, clearly. His eyes were too busy oogling her and he was waaaay too close for comfort.

The burn of jealousy was instant and tasted bitter in the back of his throat. Fire raced through his blood like poison and he gritted his teeth so hard his jaw cracked. It was such a foreign emotion to him that he was startled by his reaction to it. It never bothered him when Luffy hung around with her, or when Sanji was being an idiot and fawning all over her with treats and declarations of love and affection. Maybe it was because those guys weren't serious threats to him.

But who the FUCK was this guy and WHY did he think he could put his hands all over Tikka?

A little lusty part of him voiced that that was his job. Only.

He marched down the street, his gaze black until he could lay a heavy hand on her shoulder and wretch her away from this loser, succeeding in separating them and standing between her and this guy. Zoro had his sword out and pointed the tip in the man's face, an inch from his nose. His face was intense and his possessiveness palpable.

"Back. Off." He growled, one arm reached around to keep Tikka behind him, "Go find another female. This one's mine."

Tikka really had been about to pull away from the guy, deciding it was wroth risking being rude if it meant she didn't have to be touched by him, when suddenly a heavy hand fell on her shoulder. She blinked, but within a second she was pulled back and found herself staring at Zoro's broad shoulders...from behind.

Anger rose sharply in her chest. He was putting her behind him? As if she couldn't take care of herself?

With a mind to tell him off, Tikka leaned around him, only to find that he had a sword in Clarken's face and a nasty expression on.

A shiver went down her spine, and her eyes widened. Possessiveness was coming off of him in waves, and his body was twitching with anticipation and anger. The guy who had been showing her the bakeries was clearly terrifying out of his mind. He was looking down the sword and into the eyes of a madman with the assurance that if he didn't do exactly what Zoro said, he'd be one nose short.

Tikka looked down at the arm restraining her behind him, placed so carelessly and casually on her hip. Lastly, her eyes flickered up when he growled "Go find another female. This one's mine."

Heat shot through her, excitement, butterflies. That certainly seemed like a confession of some kind...Tikka's eyes flickered away from Zoro's sexy face to see that Clarken was studiously avoiding looking at her as he backed up, hands in the air, and nodded frantically.

"Right, of course. How silly of me…" Clarken told them, his eyes flickering to the other two swords, and turned even paler. Without another word, he turned to leave, but Tikka finally snapped to her senses and shot around Zoro, ignoring his arm, and caught the guy by the shirt.

"Hey. Where is that bakery?" she demanded, trying to keep her face neutral when her insides were partying with excitement.

The man looked back to see who'd grabbed him, blanched, then hurried pointed to a bakery at the end of the street, then hurried away without another word.

Satisfied, Tikka whirled around to find herself facing Zoro, and reached up to push his sword to the side and down, stepping closer to him as she did. "Well, well...that was interesting...I'm yours, am I?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and blinking her eyes innocently up at him, amusement flickering in the depths of her golden irises.

She desperately wanted to kiss him, but she felt bad enough for all of the teasing he'd already endured. Would that turn him off of her? Maybe she'd have to start threatening her own crew to stop teasing him…

What a silly, ridiculous thought. Though, this crew certainly liked to beat each other up on occasion, that was for sure. But none of them where here now...so she could be friendly.

She smirked and chuckled, reaching up to touch his lips with the tip of her fingers, and murmured, "Thank you, for saving me from that guy...I couldn't wait to get away from him. he gave me a crawlies."

Her hand dropped to her side, and she winked, turning towards the bakery. Her cheeks were rosy, a warm flush spreading over the tops of her breasts and her chest. It was the only outside indicator that she was really a mess of nerves around Zoro, that he tied her up in knots and made her blush like mad, especially after something like this. "Would you like some of the best desert in the world?" she asked him, hoping to change the subject before she literally went up in flames in front of him.

* * *

><p>Loo leaned back against the wall with a sly smile on his face. The scene he'd just witnessed confirmed his suspicions. "Well, looks like he's a good man after all…"<p>

With a smug expression on his face, he took one last look at the happiness spreading over Tikka's face, and turned away. "He better look after her well...or Mihawk will slice him into too many pieces to pick up."

Happy now, he headed for his ship.

* * *

><p>He watched the guy retreat like the hounds of hell were on his heels and a satisfied smirk blanketed Zoro's face. Well, that was simple enough. Wave his swords around and everyone got a little nervous. He sheathed his sword and waited for Tikka to get her directions to the bakery.<p>

She came back and looked up at him, cocking her head to the side inquisitively. Instantly, his whole body responded to her look and his face flushed when she repeated his own words back to him. Now looking at the situation in retrospect, he realized he'd come across sounding so… possessive.

He wasn't sure what he thought about it yet. Technically, he had no claim over her. She could waltz around town with anyone she desired. Just that thought had him feeling particularly volatile all over again.

"… shut up…" he told her, his eyes skittering away from hers, even when she traced the tip of her finger over his lips, "Let's go find your bakery," he grumbled, disliking that he was so flushed over her and that she tripped his switches so easily.

They headed down the street to the bakery and once he smelled the pastries and sweetness of baked goods, he quit being mulish and started to get more interested. It smelled delicious. He loved a good piece of cake every once and while.

"What are you getting here?" he asked her as he pushed open the door and she ducked under his arm to go inside.

As she got closer, more and more excitement rose in her chest. She was finally getting the desert she'd dreamed of as a child, when her father described it to her, his face frozen with rapture. That is, before he tackled her for a tickle fight.

Stepping inside the bakery, she was assaulted with smells and sighs that had her heart beating fast and her mouth salivating. "The greatest desert in the world," she told Zoro, not even looking at him because her eyes had found what she'd been searching for.

At last.

Grinning gleefully, she rushed over and demanded that she be given every single Pirates Delight in the bakery. All of them.

The baker blinked at her from behind the counter. "You want...all of them?"

Tikka nodded, and looked back into the case. "All of them...and two out of the bag for now, please," she added with a devilish smile. Within twenty minutes, a large paper bag had been filled with the Pirate Delights. After paying the man for his time, with a little tip because he'd been speedy, she dragged Zoro back out into the sunlight.

Placing the bag down next to her feet, she held up the two pastries she'd saved for them, and her eyes flickered up to find Zoro. "This is the most amazing desert in the world...My father told me all about them when I was little, and I've always wanted one. When Nami told me this was the next island along the way, I could barely contain myself."

She was more excited for him to try one than for herself. She hurried closer to him, her excitement made her oblivious to the idea of personal space, and held up the treat right under his nose. "I got you this one, so try it...tell me if it's really as good as it looks," she murmured in exaggerated awe, eyes round, flickering to the pastry, then back to his face.

In that moment between them, she felt like maybe she had a chance of gaining his interest. It made her pretty damn happy. She enjoyed sharing things with him, with all of her new crew, but especially him. The way he walked with such confidence, the way his eyes kept finding her, his expression, so stoic and calm, no mater what.

She looked away from him before she started drooling, chiding herself, and lifted the pastry to his lips in offering.

* * *

><p>After she bought the whole place out of their Pirate Delights, they had left the store and she stood just outside and had two of the pastries in her hand. She held one up to him so that Zoro had to look at it cross-eyed to keep it in his vision.<p>

"Tell me if it's as good as it looks!" she said excitedly, her eyes round as orbs as she watched him. He eyed her carefully and then glanced at the dessert she had in his face. It smelled sweet and rich, glazed in honey and topped with almonds. He flickered his eyes up to her again and she looked so damn insistent. He wasn't sure how he felt about being fed from the hand. He wasn't a child…

He grabbed her wrist as a precautionary – when one lived with Luffy, one was frequently exposed to food fights – and took a bite of the bun and chewed carefully, contemplating it. Plus, she was practically quivering with excitement and he wanted to drag her out. Despite his previous encounter with her cling-on friend, he felt oddly relaxed now, like he'd spent all his adrenaline today. Which probably wasn't unrealistic. Just looking at her sent his adrenal gland on overload. Yet now, he felt calm, a relief for change because being around her was stressful on his heart.

"It's good," he settled on finally. He wasn't a huge sweets guy, but he supposed he could tell a good dessert from a bad one.

He didn't want the rest of it and gave it to her instead and picked up her heavy bag of pastries to head back to the ship. On their way, they caught up with Luffy, who was looking harder around the middle, stretched out from eating all that food. Balanced on his shoulder was a rather large box. When he saw Tikka and Zoro, he gave them a thumbs up and tapped the side of the crate.

"Sake," he chuckled, "We are having a pirate party tonight!"

Zoro snorted, "That's not enough."

The captain shook his head and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "I just had monster Chopper carrying two more cases back to the ship. We got plenty now."

* * *

><p>Later that night, Sanji laid out a feast fit for ten kings and Nami broke open the cases of sake. One and half cases in and everyone was well on their way to getting sloshed. Franky started a contest to try and drink Zoro under the table, which was NOT going to happen. Nami joined with a wink and so did Usopp.<p>

So far, Usopp was first to fall and Franky was right on his tail. Chopper was trying to convince them both to drink water without much luck.

Luffy walked along the railing of the ship, teetering precariously and swinging two bottles in his hands, singing loudly unintelligibly. The boy could hold his food, but certainly not his liquor. He tipped over and was only saved by Robin's quick hands to hoist him back onto the ship.

"I wanna go swimming!" he announced drunkenly.

"No," Zoro replied sternly, "I'm not jumping in after your ass."

Tikka giggled and leaned over to whisper loudly, "It's okay, Luffy, I'll go in after you."

Nami smacked Tikka over the head and the girl rolled over onto her stomach with a snort of laughter, then glared at Nami from where she decided she was going to chill for a second.

"Don't encourage him, Tikka. He'll do it, and drown his own ass," Nami replied with her own unladylike snort, then strode over for her next round of sake, eyeing Zoro with a grin. "You ready for this swordsman? Because I'm pretty sure this puts us even."

Tikka sat up with a frown. "Zoro, it's so not fair that I can't play this game with you guys."

"But Tikka, you're the one who told him not to let you play," Luffy reminded her, then let out a laugh as Chopper tripped over Usopp's prone form.

Tikka blinked at Luffy, then wondered to herself if she had. Shrugging, she pushed herself to her feet and wandered over to the edge of the boat, swaying a little drunkenly, and picked up another round of sake for herself as she leaned heavily on the railing and peered into the water. It was a full moon, and this was a wonderful summer island.

"The water looks amazing! You're so right, Luffy...I wanna go swimming…" she pouted a little, taking a sip of the sake.

"You should go, if you're not too drunk" Nami suddenly appeared at her shoulder, a mischievous light twinkling in her eyes. "I could go for a swim too…"

"My swim suit is inside...it was drying," she explained, then promptly slipped on the railing and almost fell into the water. With a scramble, she managed to save herself AND the sake, taking a swig with a victory grin, tipping her hat back until the feather hat lay almost across her back and shoulders.

"Who needs swimsuits! The boys aren't paying attention, and skinny diving feels awesome. None of them are looking, come on!" Nami let out a giggle, and Tikka realized that the woman was drunk. VERY drunk. Like, more than she'd ever seen her drunk.

Was she drinking this much on purpose? For a second, Tikka got an uneasy feeling about Nami. Something...was weighing her down, and she was trying to lighten the load with alcohol and swimming.

Nami tugged on her arm, and said, "Too late, time to go!" With that, she pulled them both over until they plunged down into the water, and all of Tikka's thoughts were whipped clean as the cool water and an exuberant feeling lightened her chest. Her mind was buzzing hard and as she surfaced, a giggle escaped unbidden. She quickly clapped her hands over her mouth. The water was somewhat warm, and very pleasant.

Nami swam over to her, stifling her own laughter, and quickly shed the first later of her shirt, leaving her in a small cami she'd been wearing underneath. She swam over and hung her shirt on the rope ladder.

Tikka's head felt even lighter in the water, and she couldn't think of anything more fun than skinny dipping, which she'd been able to do all she wanted back home but had started to miss in the past few weeks.

Eager, she shrugged out of her top, and then out of her camisole as well, submerging herself up to her shoulders as she swam over to hang her things up. She was about to take her breeches off, but the light feeling of the water moving over her chest made her tingle, and the alcohol hit her hard. With an unsteady laugh, she drifted back a little, the water running over her as she spun in the light current. Nami watched with a laugh, clinging to the rope with one hand and fighting to get her camisole off with the other.

* * *

><p>AN- Thanks :) Reviews please!


	12. 12 Skinny Dipping and Lagoon Trekking!

It was some time later that anyone noticed that the two females were missing. It was Luffy who noticed first, draped over the railing like he was and lamenting that Zoro wouldn't let him go swimming. He heard a high pitched squeal and perked up, glancing into the water.

He blinked at what he saw, confused and unsure if he was really seeing what he was seeing. Nami and Tikka were in the water, splashing around, laughing hysterically. It looked like… both of them were naked, judging by the bare shoulders. He glanced down at the rope ladder and saw mounds of clothes hanging from it. Clearly, completely naked.

"Zorooooo!" Luffy whined, "I wanna go SWIMMING!"

"No," the swordsman replied. The drinking contest had long since ended. He had no idea where Nami had gotten to and Franky was clearly done, sleeping with a bottle for a pillow, "You will drown."

"But Nami and Tikka are swimming…" he pointed into the water.

Swimming? Maybe that's where they'd gone off to, to get bathing suits on and jump in the water. Zoro got up and wandered over towards the railing just as Luffy said, "They're naked…"

"What?" he rushed the railing and leaned over it to peer into the darkness, his head rushing a little from his blood pressure spiking. Sure enough, the bare shoulders gave it away. And the amount of clothing on the rope ladder. And he was NOT drunk enough to let this just blow over.

"Damn it! Tikka, put your damn clothes back on!" he growled, clambering up the railing and diving in. He surfaced just in time to hear Luffy making a gleeful whoop noise and a splash as the captain hit the water, then a panicked, "I can't swim!" before he sank below the surface.

Save the captain… or get Tikka's naked drunk ass out of the water… hmmm…

"Nami! Put your clothes on and grab Luffy before he drowns," Zoro barked, swimming over to Tikka and draping his green coat over her, "Between all of you, I get no peace…"

Tikka whirled around in the water, the jacket almost sliding right off, and pouted up at Zoro. "But it feels so good! And besides, life wouldn't be as fun without us," she grinned, giggled, and threw her arms around his neck on instinct. Her full body, since the jacket was still only draped over her shoulders, pressed up against him for a moment as she hugged him in thanks for the jacket, her mind moving like muddy water.

He was also warm, and she was kinda cold, now that she thought about it...

Zoro was tense, and she couldn't figure out why until her mind, then finally caught up with the fact that she'd been _skinny_ dipping. As in...Naked. She released him, blushing a little, and pushed back. "Oh, sorry! I forgot…" Thankfully, he had clothes on, so she hadn't embarrassed herself too bad. Feeling silly and drunk, she slipped under the water and let the coolness clear her head. That is, until Zoro tugged her up for being under too long.

"Ooookay...Time for Tikka to get out…" she muttered to herself in response to his glare and duly allowed him to guide her to the boat. She had to put her arms into the sleeves in order to clamber on up, and that in itself was an adventure because Zoro could practically look right up the jacket as she scrambled, though the climbing motion kept the material swirling around her legs ambiguously, for the most part.

Finally, she was back on board, and sat on the deck huddled into his jacket, shivering as the alcohol made her suddenly dizzy and lightheaded. She waited for him there, swaying slightly, as Chopper rushed over and demanded questions of her that she gave no answer to, just shook her head and giggled a little, muttering about being perfectly fine, just a little tired.

Even though Zoro had pitched a fit, she'd still enjoyed her drunken escapade with the red-headed navigator.

Speaking of which...

"Nami?" she asked in a blink, turning her head to look at the railing.

* * *

><p>Nami gaped at Zoro when he yelled at her, and her drunken mind took another second to register. Luffy was…?<p>

She peered down, and saw a vague and shadowy flash of red sinking into the water. She gasped, and before she could think to put her clothes on first, she dove. She kicked hard, albeit clumsily, and speared her way through the water towards him until she could loop her arms up and under his, her front to his back, and hauled his ass up and out of the water.

She broke the surface with a gasp, shivering now from being drunk, cold, and hard-hit with adrenaline. She grumbled about Luffy's idiocy, dragging him towards the boat, when she realized she had no clothes on. With a squeak, she dropped him, but hurriedly recovered and grabbed his wrist, dragging him mercilessly through the water and then tying his rubbery arm to the robe as she snagged her clothes and hurried to pull them on, her back to her captain.

When she could finally face him again, her face was red and she'd become mightily sober. She swam back, untied him, and silently dragged his ass up the ladder, accepting Sanji's offer of aid and finally clambering up to fall down next to Tikka, spread eagle in her sodden clothes, and stared up at the sky.

"So...maybe this wasn't the best of plans…" Nami said after a moment, to Tikka, who giggled and shrugged her shoulders, stopped, glanced at the wet and amazingly gorgeous Zoro as he clambered up over the railing, and changed her mind to shaking her head.

"No...this was good." She stage-whispered to Nami, eyeing the swordsman mercilessly, her drunk mind unable to censor her. Nami glanced over, then barked out a laugh and closed her eyes with a sigh, exhausted from hauling her captain up the length of their boat.

* * *

><p>She was one drunken wet mess and she was out to kill him, seriously.<p>

The whole trip back to the boat was an adventure. Nami dove away to grab Luffy before he hit the bottom of the ocean and that left Zoro to deal with Tikka, half naked, drunk and flippant. She'd been giggly and gave him a big wet hug that had his face flushing deeply and he was thankful for the darkness of the night. He could feel her warm body right through his clothes, every curve and soft edge and it was maddening.

He dragged her out of the water and just before they got to the ladder, she slipped into the sleeves and tied the jacket up so that she could climb. That in and of itself was an escapade. He was mindful not to look up because the second he did, he got an eyeful of long legs and mysterious, well placed shadows from the material swishing ambiguously. It made him uncomfortable to think that she was naked under that.

On the deck, she collapsed against the railing, drawing her knees up so that she was covered shoulder to toes. Shortly after, Nami joined them, tossing an equal intoxicated and panting Luffy on the deck and dropping next to Tikka. Thankfully, the navigator had clothes on.

"You saved my LIFE!" Luffy half groaned, half choked on sea water, "I thought I was a goner…"

"Idiot…" Zoro shook his head. He could still feel the buzz and slosh in his brain, but he was mostly coherent, his reaction time just a little slower and his resolve weakened somewhat. But overall, ship shape, "Come on, Tikka, let's get you some dry clothes," he tugged her up by her arm and led her into the empty girls room to get her something to wear that wasn't dripping.

* * *

><p>Three minutes ago, Luffy remembered the water sucking him in like a stone and he realized in a moment of drunken clarity that he couldn't swim. What the hell was he thinking? He gave up the ability to frolic in any body of water beyond his knees at a tender age when he ate his Gum Gum Fruit.<p>

He stared as the surface of the water became less and less clear. He was utterly helpless. He couldn't even move, found little energy to even struggle. Ugggghhhh… this was just great. Why didn't he ever listen to Zoro when he was drunk?

Suddenly, arms wrapped around his middle and he was hauled up rapidly and surfaced with a gasp and a cough, water dripping into his eyes. He turned his head slightly and the glimpse of red copper waves was all he needed to confirm his savior.

"Nami…" he gasped, "You saved me…" he tipped his head back against her shoulder, feeling faint from the water and the alcohol coursing through his bloodstream as she dragged him towards the ship. Right now, he hated the ocean.

He wasn't sure what gave it away, maybe the warmth of her body, or that fact that he couldn't feel the rough friction of wet clothing between them, but he came to the conclusion that she was naked. She must have realized it too, because she dropped him with a gasp and he let out a startled yell before she latched onto his wrist and hauled his ass back up, gasping again. She gave him the rope ladder and he clung to it while she whipped her clothes away and dressed awkwardly and speedily, her back to him. He watched, eyes shadowed by his hair and when she turned back to him reasonable covered, he said to her, "You… were naked…"

He wasn't overly bothered by it; he'd seen her naked many times on accident – and sometimes not on accident – and he knew that she had a banging body. It was part and parcel of living with a bunch of boys on a pirate ship. Privacy was somewhat limited. What bothered him about this encounter was the tightening in his stomach that came, albeit delayed, from feeling her pressed against him like that. The Mystery Feeling, he deemed in. Something between interest and… something else indescribable. A tightening in his gut, tingling in his toes and a lack of blood rushing to his brain that left him breathless. He didn't know what to call it.

She grabbed him again and pulled him up the ladder. He tried to help, but his legs were literally rubber and the sudden shock of hitting the water mixed with the sake and the Mystery Feeling had him feeling sorta ill. Sanji reached down and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him over the railing, where Luffy collapsed next to Nami.

"You save my LIFE!" he told her again, "I thought I was a goner…"

Nami lifted her head to find a drunk Luffy thanking her for saving her life. She rolled her eyes at him and finally pushed herself up. Zoro had already picked up Tikka and taken the other girl away, and everyone else seems to have crashed, including Sanji, who had passed out again on the deck as soon as he was no longer needed to rescue his captain.

That basically left her and Luffy alone, except for Chopper, who was busily moving from body to body to make sure no one had died from too much alcohol. He was, conveniently, across the boat.

Her head swung back to Luffy, and she wondered just HOW drunk he was. He looked pretty drunk...though she was probably more so, she was just better at holding it in. "You're welcome, Luffy," Nami responded, and a blush filtered into her cheeks. Not only had he now seen her naked, he'd also FELT her naked. Sort of...she hoped he was too drunk to remember that.

And this…

Her head was sloshing with alcohol, she was shivering from the cold and from her body's reaction to so much stimulus. Luffy looked like a drowned rat, but his hair fell over his eyes in such a way...She couldn't stop herself. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, too afraid to kiss his lips, then hurriedly pulled herself up to her feet.

"Now don't fall in again, you meathead," she told Luffy sharply, her heart pounding and her blood rushing. Before he could react, she turned and walked away. She would run, if it wasn't so suspicious.

And if she had that kind of coordination at the moment, of course.

Within moments, she'd disappeared.

* * *

><p>Tikka swayed slightly as she stood in the middle of the girls cabin. It was empty save for the two of them, since Nico Robin had fallen asleep on her lounge chair on the deck, and Nami was still recovering from almost drowning.<p>

Zoro said something about dry clothes, but she was so used to being wet she dismissed it. She looked down at herself, then Nami's voice filled her head again.

'You should flash Zoro tonight when you're drunk and see what he does,' Nami had said as they both finished their fifth drink. Tikka had been so shocked she'd nearly dropped her sake, but Nami had laughed and caught it with a wink. 'If he's into you, this is one way to know for sure.'

Tikka still hadn't been sure, but now she was far drunker, and also wet. HE was the one who wanted her to change anyways. She turned to Zoro, instead of going to her trunk for clothes, and tilted her head back to look up at him. Her hair fell in wet, white ringlets, plastered to her neck and shoulders. One curl was plastered to her cheek in an almost perfect loop. Her eyes were molten gold, deepened in color from the alcohol and her mood, and got even deeper as she stared up at him, her lips parted. Her tongue darted out to catch a drop of water that had beaded on her bottom lip.

"Zoro, you are really hot," she told him, point blank, absolutely no filters. A smile brightened her eyes, and she continued to sway drunkenly in front of him as she reached up to the lapels of the jacket. The sash was tied around her waist, keeping most of her hidden, and when she promptly pulled her lapels off her shoulders and let it pool around her waist, the sash kept it from slipping past her hips. Though she blushed, she was too drunk to care about exposing herself to him. "And your hotness makes me hot," she finished, the logic seeming sound in her own alcohol-heavy mind.

The moment she turned to him, Zoro knew, it was her body language that had all the red warning sounds ringing in his head, but he was drunk enough to ignore them. It didn't stop his bodily reaction of stiffening though, his spine ramrod straight, his eyebrows shooting up as his eyes widened. She grabbed the lapels of the jacket and he only milliseconds to prepare himself for what he sensed what was about to happen.

She shrugged out of the coat and her comment had heat shooting down to his stomach to swirl, leaving his head so rapidly he felt light. He physically reached behind him and thankfully, he was literally against the wall and it was his support when his knees went weak. He swallowed hard.

His mind went blank. He didn't even know what to think. Here they were, drunk – albeit, she was far more intoxicated than he – half naked, dripping wet and the smolder in her eyes suggested far more than anything that had transpired before between them.

She was… absolute perfection, he'd always thought so. Sexy, sassy. Her hair was plastered to her neck and shoulders, a delicate ringlet curling up over her flushed cheeks. She overwhelmed him and had him tripping over himself like a preteen.

Zoro dragged his eyes off her breasts to meet her eyes, his lips parting as his breath hitched, "I don't… what do you want from me?" he demanded, his eyes hot as he raked them over her one more time.

* * *

><p>Luffy was just starting to recover from his near death experience when Nami leaned over him, tucked her dripping hair back and… kissed his cheek.<p>

And she was gone just like that, calling him a meathead.

He blinked and when she was no longer in the range to see him clearly, a flushed crept over his face. She kissed him. He couldn't understand the effect it had on him. Women kissed his cheek before, he was certain, not that he could recall any off the top of his head. So why did his head spin over Nami?

He sat up, swaying a little before putting his hand on the deck to steady himself. He wanted to get up and follow her, the desire overwhelming, but a rumbling in his stomach and a tingling in his mouth had him paling and stumbling to the edge of the ship so that he could puke his guts out. And it wasn't long after that that he passed out on the deck.

* * *

><p>Tikka was really drunk. Like, alcohol was still being digested, because she was definitely still getting drunker from whatever she'd last had. Her stomach twinged, but she pushed it aside, too enthralled in the light entering his eyes, both the panic...and the desire.<p>

What..._did_ she want? Her eyes flickered, from his face, to his magnificent chest, to his tense arms and shoulders. He...was a man of worth. He was a man who could face her father and not chicken out.

Would she ever find another male of such caliber?

What, though, did that mean? Her drunk brain hurt from these big thoughts, so she shook her head and her heated eyes moved back up to his, locking with his stare, her breath catching. "I...want anything you're willing to give...or take…" she added, her arms sliding around herself until she was hugging herself, hiding her breasts from view as a little bit of sense returned to her. Now that she'd flashed him, she wasn't quite too sure what to do with herself. Why hadn't she asked Nami about that part?

Oh, right...she hadn't thought it to be a good idea before.

A wave of drunken dizziness washed over her, and she swayed drastically, a small giggle slipping out, her curls falling over her eyes. She half turned away from him-towards the bed, then paused, tilting her head over her shoulder and said in a loud whisper, "But at the moment...I'm a tad...unsteady…" The last couple of steps she took were wobbly, and she barely made it to her bed before she crashed, plunging face first onto the covers, immediately asleep, into the sheets, his wet jacket still wrapped around her waist and legs.

Zoro was...aghast. Willing to give and take what? He'd shamelessly stared as she wrapped her arms around her breasts, taking in the flare of her hips, the tuck in her waist, the swell of her breasts, her slim shoulders and right up to that mouth of hers that made him crazy. His mind jumped to what it would be like to kiss her again, to trace his hands over all that naked flesh and his heart leapt into his throat and the room suddenly became stifling.

But then she'd turned, swayed a little and taken three steps before she collapsing into the bed, passed out from the alcohol, the soaking jacket still clinging to her hips and legs. A wave of dizziness hit him hard and Zoro slid to the floor, his knees wobbly and unsteady, into a squat, rubbing the back of his head. His body was kicking into overdrive, his heart hammering, suddenly a little short of breath. He watched her for a few minutes, then down to his hands, his mind attempting to digest what just happened before he made an effort to stand up again. Now would be a good time to leave, while he still had some semblance of his sanity.

He glanced at her again and saw that the jacket was soaking the sheets underneath her and a twinge set in his stomach. He couldn't let her sleep like that…

Mustering up some bravado, which was definitely easier to do when she wasn't looking at him, he crossed over to her trunk and pulled out a shirt for her and approached the bed. She was out cold. He nudged her with his hand. Nothing.

A violent flush graced his neck and face, but he shoved through it and lifted her up so that he could hurriedly pull the shirt over her head, doing his damnedest not to pay attention to her bare skin. When that was done, it was easy work to unwrap the coat from her hips and quickly draw the blanket over her. Laying there, she almost looked innocent, and it made his stomach tighten uncomfortably.

With one last look at her sleeping form over his shoulder, Zoro tossed the coat on a chair to dry and left her room, the fresh air a blessing on his heated skin.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Tikka rolled over to find that both Nami and Robin had found their way back to the room. Both still appeared to be sleeping. Tikka sat up, and instantly regretted it, laying back down until her head stopped pounding and spinning, and willed her stomach to stop churning.<p>

They were only on this island for another day or two before the log-pose would reset and they would be off to the next island. So today was the day she'd have to find that special spot her father had told her about…

So despite her raging hangover, Tikka got to her feet and forced herself through her morning routine. Within twenty minutes, she was out on the deck, her bag over one shoulder, her swords secure between her shoulder blades, and her hat on top of her damp curls.

On the deck, Luffy and Usopp were still passed out on the deck, but Sanji must have woken up and made it back to his room. The morning was eerily quiet on the docks, mostly from a light fog that had blanketed everything. Shrugged to herself, she made her way over to the mast and pinned the note she'd written to let everyone know where she was.

"Dear Fellow Crew Members,

I have gone in search of a lagoon my father knew of from the last time he was here. I'll be back by the evening. Don't have too much fun without me!

Sincerely, Tikka."

With that, she turned to disembark, and almost tripped over Luffy's prone form. Her captain was flat on his stomach, head to the side, and an attractive line a drool was making an impressive puddle under his face. She chuckled to herself, leaned down to fluff his hair, then finally took off.

She stopped in the town for a few supplies, then set off into the jungle which covered much of this island. Her father had told her it was nearly directly in the middle of the island, so she hoped she was heading in the right direction. As she walked, enjoying the hike, she finally allowed herself to investigate into her memories of last night.

The last clear thing she remembered was giggling with Nami as they jumped into the water together. That was also when she'd chugged her drink with the other woman so that they could so swimming in the first place. After that...things go fuzzy. The cold had made her instantly more drunk.

She remembered being naked in the water. Which, to be honest, wasn't en unusual thing for her. At home, all she had to worry about was Loo, who was gay...and also her nanny. So she'd never bothered with clothing when she'd taken leisurely dips in the ocean. She also loved to lay in the sun after a swim naked, so it was almost natural to her. But then...she hadn't been alone that night. Tikka sighed, shaking her head at herself.

What happened after swimming? She remembered...Luffy in the water...and…

Zoro.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Zoro had been in the water? But she'd been naked…

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, the string from her hat keeping it from hitting the ground and instead falling over her shoulders. She let out a groan, her eyes closed, and sighed. "Roronoa Zoro, how you complicated my life…" she finally muttered, then continued on.

Her memories got increasingly dim after that. She barely remembered clambering up the rope, but she did remember sitting on the deck next to Nami. After that...her memories were too muddled and dark to sort out.

Wow, she was such a basket case on alcohol. She definitely needed to cool it where that was concerned...

Perhaps if she didn't think about it, maybe the rest of her memories would come back. With that resolved in mind, she forged on, and allowed herself to enjoy the morning.

She didn't reach the water until a little before lunch. By then, she'd shed her shirt, leaving her dressed in her brown pants, her boots, the gold sash around her hips, the red bikini top, and her hat.

During her walk, she'd come to the realization that the center of the island was actually a plateau, and so her tactic had changed and she'd had to spend hours rock-climbing her way up to get here. To better climb, her bag had to be tied around her waist to keep from swinging around dangerously, especially on the more treacherous rocks.

Finally, she clambered up the last one, and found herself staring down into a small and quaint pocket of jungle, completely isolated from the rest of the jungle, and in the very center was a lagoon, barely visible because of the trees, but breathtakingly aqua in color. Rather than a plateau, as she'd been expecting, the top was more like a shallow bowl, with a rock edge surrounding the green gem of jungle. A stream ran from one of the edges of the bowl and right towards the lagoon. She could see the waterfall that fed it.

Performing a little victory dance in excitement, Tikka set off again. It took her less than half an hour to hurry her way down the edge, into the jungle, and over to the edge of the lagoon. Though the water looked extremely tempting, she forced herself to sit still and enjoy her lunch, taking an entire hour to eat and lay in the sun, relaxing.

While she ate and basked, her thoughts wandered back to Zoro. And the intensity in his eyes when he'd stared at her. He was all she seemed to be able to think about lately. And the more she thought about him, the more she realized she liked him. A lot. He was funny, strong, and generally reliable, if you didn't expect him to give directions.

But liking him wasn't her problem. She'd sorta already figured out that she liked him...but she didn't know what to do with that. Things between them had been ambiguous at best, and she still wasn't sure what he felt about her. Or if everything wasn't just in her head…

But then, he _had_ kissed her…

And when he'd kissed her, she'd wanted him SO bad. So...why not? Why not see if he wanted her just as bad? What did she have to lose?

She paused, wrinkling her nose. It would make being crew mates really uncomfortable…

Worth the risk? Her mind slid to the image of his strong arms, muscles rippling below his tanned flesh, as he swung his sword out in an expert and powerful slash.

Yep.

Tikka sighed, and pushed herself to her feet, deciding to explore the area around the lagoon. Her thoughts slid to her parents, and to her dead mother. She wondered if her mother had loved this place as much as Tikka. She wondered if she'd touched any of these trees, or rocks. Tikka smile lightly, and slid her hands over the rough bark of a nearby tree.

In the warm sun though, the water became too alluring. She slid out of her clothing, deciding to go bare, since she was the only one here, and clambered up onto a rock to dive in. The only thing she had on her with her was her sword-because a swordsman was never too far from their swords-strapped to her back. Thankfully, Loo had long recognized her penchant for skinny dipping, and luckily the he'd been good with his hands. He'd made her the harness for her sword, and only two slender straps of water-resistant leather kept the shinning blade strapped tight to her back, criss-crossing both between her shoulders blades and over her breasts. It was also water tight in the sheath, which had made her stronger from the effort to draw them, and also protected them from any kind of rusting. It didn't help that she cleaned and cared for her swords religiously. She was so used to the feel of her sword on her back that she barely noticed it.

Her head broke the water after her dive almost two entire minutes later, her white curls taming themselves and becoming gentle waves as the water weighed them down. Where she was standing, somewhat close to the rocks, the water came up to her belly button. Deciding to explore more, she headed for the waterfall, swimming slowly and leisurely until she found that the water fell over a series of large boulders. A grin broke out over her face. She climbed out of the lagoon to stand under one of the plumes of falling water, the pounding liquid falling over her head and shoulders and sweeping her hair back from her face, sluicing down her body in rivulets.

She should meditate like a Zen master, she thought with a grin.

* * *

><p>What woke him up was the smell of food. Zoro stretched, his hammock swaying. He felt a little nauseous from the alcohol the night before, but generally in good spirits. It smelled like Sanji was up though. He wondered if the scent of food would have woken up Luffy or if he was still out cold from his ordeal.<p>

He sat up and stifled a yawn, swinging his legs out of the netting as the memories of the night settled into his head. Tikka and Nami had decided to go on a little adventure in the water and Luffy had decided it would be cool to join and nearly drown. Then, Zoro had dragged Tikka out of the water and then…

He froze, his breathing hitched and his face heated at the memory. Tikka had… he'd seen her half naked, at her volition. And nearly stopped his heart.

Zoro shook his head. He still didn't understand quite where they were yet, other than two consenting adults with some insatiable feelings shared between them. What did it mean beyond that? He almost didn't want to contemplate it.

He headed out of his room and onto the deck, which was still shock still, a major contrast from the normal hustle and bustle. It was always like this after a raging party though. Sanji was in the kitchen still, clearly. Usopp and Luffy were still unconscious; the latter with a string of drool pooling under his cheek, which was gross, but oddly familiar. Luffy not drooling when sleeping on his stomach was like Luffy not eating when he was hungry.

Robin was gone, but Nami was up, a blanket around her shoulders and a mug of coffee in her palms. She was sitting near Luffy, staring at him with a strange expression on her face. She looked a little worse for wear. She glanced at Zoro when he passed by and pointed to the mast pole. His eyes followed her finger to a piece of paper pinned to the wood. It was from Tikka. He read it carefully, irritation rising in him like a foul poison. She LEFT? Without waking him up first? She shouldn't be going anywhere without supervision. What with her father being one of the seven warlords of the sea, her ransom would be as high as Zoro's bounty…

He cursed and headed back to his room to grab his swords to head after her. With a little food in his stomach to sate him for the time being, he headed off to the lagoon where she said she'd be…

A few hours later, he had noooo fucking idea where he was. And it was getting steadily later in the day, the sun setting in the west. Maybe. She had to have given him the wrong instructions. There was no way he was anywhere near the center of the island… he crossed jungles, streams, climbed a huge rock wall…

He pushed through a couple of trees and stopped when a sight greeted him. He was on a ledge, and in the far distance he could see the blue shimmer of a lagoon. Finally! Damn, he was tired.

It was another god damned hour before he found the edge of the water. He was certain it hadn't been THAT far away. He had an inkling of a suspicion that he'd been lost and confused… but that was impossible. He didn't get lost.

The lagoon was spectacular, a sparkling blue, coated in the dusk of the jungle and the setting sun. It was surrounded on three sides by big boulders and a waterfall feeding into it. No wonder she'd wanted to find this place so badly.

He spotted her on the far side of the pool, under the waterfall and his lungs seized at the silhouette and unmistakable form of her naked body shimmered back to him in a watery image. Naked again in the water. Seriously, she was going to kill him. He walked all the way around, leaping from boulder to boulder easily until he was standing right next to the roar of the rushing water. He took off his boots and settled them on the ground, the rocks too wet and slippery to keep the traction.

"Tikka!" he hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth, "What the hell are you doing? Get the hell outta there!"

Tikka was standing under the water, enjoying the coolness, when a noise that sounded like a voice had her head snapping up. Water sprayed as she moved under the water until she stepped out from the cascading waterfall and saw...Zoro. Standing not twenty feet from her.

Heat exploded into her cheeks when she remembered she was naked, and the cascading water wasn't doing much to hide anything. "Zoro!" she cried, surprised, and stepped off the rock to free-fall down into the water.

It wasn't a far drop, but as the water encased her, all she could think was...why was he here? She hadn't figured he would come_ find_ her.

Breaking the surface, only her shoulders were visible, but the water was so clear that little was left to the imagination. Zoro demanded that she get out again, but she ignored him, instead eyeing him speculatively. She'd made a decision. She'd decided to see just how far she could take things with Zoro...after all, they were adults, right? And she wanted him. Being naked in front of him made her flush with awareness, and he looked so good, standing there with sweat beaded on his brow.

Unbeknownst to herself, that devious, seductress light started shinning in her golden irises as she slowly drifted towards him, shaking her head. "I don't think so, Zoro. Did you see how awesome this lagoon is? I still have at least another hour in this lagoon...you should join me instead."

And just like that, she'd drifted within range. Suddenly, she shot out of the water, using a stone that was too dark for him to pick out from above, and launched herself high enough to whip out her sword, to deftly hit him behind the knees with the flat of her blades, a surefire way to get a guy standing on mossy rocks right next to a pool of water...to take a dive.

She fell back into the water, losing her upwards momentum, and deftly sheathed her sword. Her body hit the water with a splash. She kicked downwards, propelling herself up to break the surface with a laugh, scanning for him with her hawkeyes. She wasn't sure what she was expecting from this encounter with Zoro, but she knew now that she wanted him. He was a man worthy of her pursuit, and she was willing to fight for it.

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><p>an- Hope you like :) Enjoy!


	13. 13 Duel! A Game of Cat and Mouse!

~~Lime Warning~~

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><p>She spun around to face him, the water sluicing over her body and Zoro quickly averted his gaze to keep from getting too flustered by her. She swam towards him, just her bare shoulders showing and it was the glint in her eyes, that mysterious, sexy look about her that his guard going up instantly. He could practically taste the wickedness coming off her in waves.<p>

"You should join me instead…" she all but purred, drifting closer to him and he stiffened as that anticipation only she triggered built in him in a heartbeat. His stomach clenched, his heart quickened. Mixed with that devilish expression, he knew he was done for tonight. There was no way he was leaving this lagoon without getting in first and getting close and personal with her.

Oddly, he was pumped.

That fast, she jumped out of the water and pulled her sword off her bare back and swiped at the back of his knees. In that barest moment, he got a full view of her naked, exquisite body and it was just enough to slow his reaction time as he gaped and it was his downfall. Literally. He stumbled and pinwheeled his arms in an attempt to stop him from tumbling into the water, but splashed down, rather ungracefully.

The water was deeper than he thought and he recovered fast, rotating his body in the water so that he was no longer flipping head over heels. He opened his eyes and saw her legs swirling in the clear water not too far from him. In that heartbeat of a moment, a blur of emotions surged through him. He was distracted by her completely naked, full hourglass figure and a flash of irritation went through him that she would use that sinful body to her advantage to fluster him into falling into the water. And a sense of trickery revenge swept through him.

Zoro speared through the water and reached out to wrap his hand around her ankle and tugged hard, yanking her under the water with him. He used the momentum of the pull to push himself back up to surface with a gasp and a shake of his head. He had to get out of the water now before she trapped him here and worked him over with her devil woman charm.

Tikka had managed a single gasp and a strangled laugh before the water enclosed her head and cut off the sound. Laughing underwater, she waited till she lost the downward momentum before kicking to the surface

He had already started for the beach, the most obvious means of exit, but she hadn't gone to all that work to get him in the water for nothing. "Roronoa Zoro!" she called, lifting a hand out of the water and pointing straight at him. "If you do not stay and swim with me, then I call you a coward."

Her eyes were hard and flat with sincerity, but on the inside she was smirking. She'd grown up around swordsmen...she knew how they worked, AND how you got them to do what you wanted without physical force.

His shoulders instantly tensed when the word coward past her lips. She fought to keep her smile under wraps, lasted about three seconds, and lost. She swam closer to him, slow enough so as not to be overly threatening. "Besides, this is the perfect opportunity for training, right swords-master? Don't we swords masters sit under waterfalls and learn to center our minds?"

She came right up to his frozen form, and they were both standing now, in waist deep water, but he continued to face away from her. Her white hair was longer when it was wet, and the curls covered much of her breasts as she tilted her head to the side and drew her sword, standing there like warrior nymph, her eyes alight with heat and mischief.

Zoro was aghast, knowing how she would look right now without having to turn around. She really intended to stay naked...and fight?

Tikka smirked up at him, but her eyes continued to be pulled down to his broad, wet shoulders. The way his shirt clung to them was seriously making it difficult to focus. Heat rose in her cheeks, flushing across the tops of her breasts, but fear and embarrassment had never stopped her before. She was the daughter of the great Mihawk...she would push through any obstacle in her bath, including this...awkwardness...between them. She figured by giving him an "out," or an excuse, like training her might just tip his hand in her favor. She hoped so, worrying her bottom lip.

Zoro, however, was seething.

Coward? COWARD?

Roronoa Zoro was many things, many things he was not proud of, but he was not, never, ever a coward.

He froze instantly as a thought crossed his mind, a hard edge entering his dark eyes. It mingled with the heat that lingered in his gaze from the sight of her nude, and his shoulders tensed. He tipped his chin up, his jaw clenched. He didn't have to turn around to know that she was waist deep in the water now, as he was and he'd heard the scrap of a sword being drawn. Naked or not, he was not afraid of anyone. And he never kept his back to his opponent.

He turned around slowly, his eyes raking over her from hip to eyes. Her curls were pulled forward, covering her breasts tantalizingly. The water swirled around her hips, but he could see through it pretty clearly anyway. That, with the sword in her hand and the dark temptation in her eyes, and he knew that this little fight between them wasn't going to last long.

He didn't want it to last that long. They'd been dancing, sometimes even awkwardly, around this...thing...between them, and he was done fighting it. Never in his life had he seen anything sexier.

He grasped the Wado Ichimonji – Kuina's sword – and pulled it out slowly, his eyes glued to hers. One sword was going to be plenty for him right now. He had so much adrenaline running through him that he could probably take on Hawkeye right now. He practically shook from it.

"I am not a coward, Dracule Ratikka…" he growled her name intentionally and with that, he rushed her, the water catching around his knees and making their battle more interesting.

It was over in minutes. He trapped her hilt and flipped her sword out of her grip. He moved with a vengeance. The blade tumbled through the air and embedded in the beach sand. There was a moment of fast breathing, heart racing, blood pumping before he tossed his sword behind him where it joined hers on the beach, along with his other swords. And then he did the unthinkable, what he knew was inevitable the moment he caught her naked under the waterfall. He slid his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her in close for a scorching kiss, his tongue dipping in her mouth and claiming her aggressively. His other hand slid into the water to grab her hip and pull her in tight to him, feeling every soft curve of her body imprinted against his, warm and hot and pliant.

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><p>When he faced her and growled "I am not a coward, Dracule Ratikka…" a shiver went down her spine and heat flushed through her. The way he said her name produced visions of hot, sweaty nights and tangled sheets.<p>

Her mouth quirked at one corner, "Oh, I know…" she murmured lowly, too low for him to hear, and barely had time to raise her sword before be came rushing at her. The speed and verocity with which he moved made her eyes widen a little. Perhaps she'd provoked the beast a bit much…

She was utterly dismayed when her sword went flying so soon into the battle, her heart dropping to her feet, but as her eyes flickered up to find Zoro staring at her with that wild look in his eyes, she went molten, and all of her dismay vanished. Well, you reap what you sow...she told herself the moment before he lunged for her again.

There was no resistance. If anything, she closed the gap as he pulled her tight against his hot body and claimed her mouth as if he already owned it, punishing her with his lips. A moan slipped from between them, and her back arched, pressing her stomach and breasts against him.

Her fingers latched onto him, one of her hands mirrored his, sliding up and around his neck to pull him closer to her lips, the other slid down his side until she could hook her fingers under the sodden hem of his shirt. She tugged, and pulled until she'd forced his arms up and his shirt off. She was already naked, and the feeling of his clothing was chaffing her bare skin when she wanted to feel his own hot flesh. All the while, her lips left his only to tug the material over his head, then she forced him backwards, her body constantly brushing against his, crowding his, reveling in the sensation of her bare breasts and belly against his naked chest. She'd herded him towards the side of the lagoon, and took one more slow step between his legs, her thigh brushing against the bulge in his pants, until his back hit the giant boulder rimming the water.

Her hands went for his chest, flattening against the heat of his pecs before sliding up to his shoulders, and then back down over his sides, agonizingly lowly, as her lips finally left his mouth to work their way down his jaw, over his neck, squirming against him in helpless arousal. Now that she'd decided she wanted him, she held nothing back as her desires drove her body to act.

"Zoro," she whispered hotly, against his neck. "You make me crazy...but I like it…" she murmured, her teeth lightly grazing his skin. Her head was buzzing from him, her body on fire, and she couldn't think straight, especially now that she'd gotten rid of his shirt.

Zoro had allowed her to push him backward as she all but ripped his shirt off him. He had even helped her by pulling his arms away from her and shrugging out of the material. Soaking wet, it sunk to the bottom of the lagoon. She didn't give him a chance to breathe before she was pressing up against him, rubbing her bare skin against his and the contact was electrifying, robbing him of all breath and sanity.

The scrap of the rock against his back gave him something to anchor to when he felt like drowning in her and the way her hands were relentless, unyielding in their intent. He was stunned by his body's reaction to what she was doing. Her mouth moved away from his and over his jaw and neck, her fingernails scratching over his stomach and the V in his hips, sending violent shivers up his spine. He was mindless to her. She tied him up so tight that he couldn't get undone fast enough.

Her whispered words had the heat pooling deep in his stomach and he flipped them around so that she was pinned to the rock instead of him, his larger body a cage. She triggered the same responses in him, and for some reason, it pleased him to know he did the same to her. Knowing that made it all the more easier to give in to these urges.

He took a leaf from her book and traced his slightly shaking hands over her flat, tight belly and up over her ribs. Before he lost his courage, he moved his hands up and over her breasts, his calloused palms brushing over her tight nipples. The soft and pliant weight of them made her body shudder with sudden need.

Tikka was drowning. She had felt his muscles tighten the second before he pulled her around to pin her to the rock wall, his body caging her in, and the position send excitement and heat rocketing through her system. Her eyes flickered to his perfect hips and travelled up the sight of his amazing chest, and lastly flickering back to his eyes. Her expression was that of rapture, of heat, of wanton need.

He put his hands on her, and she was lost. He could have told her to do anything, and she would have. Her stomach tightened under his fingers, her hips pressed against his, her back arched, thrusting her breasts up as her hands fell back to cling to the rock.

Zoro was a true swordsman. His body may be rough, insistent, urgent as he pressed close to her, and his expression may be harsh and aggressive with need, but his hands were perfectly gentle, smooth, and in control. Mostly, that is…

His palms brushed her breasts and she let out a gasp, her head falling back. One of her hands shot out to his hip, clutching at him, her fingers sliding under the material of his pants, along the line of his hip, as she writhed under his touch.

"Zoro," she gasped, and she realized she liked saying his name. Liked whispering to him heatedly in the throes of passion. It made her blood zing. She released the rock and thew both arms around his neck before using the wall as an anchor to haul herself up and wrap her legs securely around his waist, her ankles locking with the strength and grace of an acrobat. Her breath hissed out as her core pressed over him through the thick material of his pants, awareness washing over her.

"The beach, Zoro," she whispered to him, her lips already tracing the line of his ear as her breasts smashed against his chest and her hips subtly ground into his. She moaned low and drew his earlobe into her mouth for a light nibble before her lips trail down his neck.

His name sliding out of her lips tightened Zoro's stomach delectably. He was starting to figure out what she liked, just by her body language, the sudden changes in breath and even better, when she said his name.

Her head flipped back and a gasp spilled from her mouth when his palm skated over her breast. That gave him pause and after a moment of hesitation, he brought his hand back to it and gave it another exploratory caress. Her hand dipped into the hem of his pants and the sensation was maddening.

And suddenly, she was jumping into his arms, crushing her very naked body to his very half naked one and wrapping her legs around his hips. She hefted herself up his body so that she was high enough up to travel her mouth over his jaw again, up to his ear and the tip of her tongue sent tremors down his spine and goosebumps over his skin. He could feel the heat from the juncture of her legs pressed right flush to him, rubbing against him and it was overpowering all other senses, bearing down on him immeasurably.

She was absolute perfection in every way, from her banging body to her sass to her seduction methods. Not to mention she liked to play with swords...He was fascinated by every curl, how the humidity of weather climates would make them frizz, her golden eyes would light up at just about everything, like life was a complete adventure. He ran his hands up her back and came in contact with her sword strap and in one motion, he removed it and tossed it up onto the boulder behind her, but sight of the very familiar hilt made his breath pause in his lungs.

It penetrated his brain like a shot of ice. It came in a sudden shot of clarity that she was Hawkeye Mihawk's daughter, his sworn rival, the man that he would someday have to defeat in battle to claim the title of greatest swordsman alive. And she was his daughter…

Zoro nearly dropped her, instead he submerged under the water to free her from him and backed up from her, suddenly craving the space. Something close to panic, but not quite, bubbled under the surface of the insane lust she instilled in him, casting it aside for the barest moment. He was only feet from her, but enough so that she wasn't touching him anymore and he no longer felt like he was drowning in her.

He swallowed hard, though, when he got a look at her face. Cheeks and breasts flushed, lips parted, swollen from kissing, hair partially wet but quickly drying in the heat and curling in wisps around her face. She shook his strong foundation. "I… this isn't a good idea maybe…" his eyes contradicted his words, drinking her in, dark with arousal, his face flushed and lips parted, "I want this too much for it to be good…" that last part was barely said, a near whisper, like he was cautious to speak it out loud lest it make it more real.

Before he'd had this little panic attack, she'd just been thinking that they were both going to dry up this lagoon if they didn't get out soon, because the heat and hunger building between was scorching. Her body was vibrating with the desire to be closer to him.

But that fire was abruptly dimmed when he'd suddenly dunked them both under the water and pushed himself away from her, scrambling back. She didn't have hawk eyes for nothing, though.

He was trembling, almost imperceptibly, and his actions were jerky and rough, which meant he was panicking or near panicking. Swordsmen only moved like that when things were suddenly not in one's control.

She pulled her hair over one shoulder and stood there unabashedly. She loved being naked as it is, and now that he'd seen her, there was no reason to hide just because he couldn't handle it. She felt a twinge of hurt, though, that he felt whatever was between them wasn't a good idea, but any sense of self-degradation went flying out the window when she saw the look in his eyes, completely contradictory to his words.

He muttered something, and all she heard was "...want...too much…" and the last word might have been 'good.'

She tilted her head to the side, and wondered what he could mean by that, by this.

Was he rejecting her? So soon? He didn't seem keen on rejecting her a couple of moments ago…

But her mind was working quick, and she realized it was after he touched her sword holster that he had tensed. Why would the reminder of her sword make him tense?

It took her another second, but then it was so obvious, she almost laughed. He wouldn't have tensed had she been any other swords woman...but she was the daughter of Hawkeye Mihawk.

Was that his problem? Either he was afraid of her father...or didn't want to disrespect him…Either way, she was a little miffed that he would care who she was related to, if that was indeed his issue.

She pushed herself through the water, her knees breaking the surface with each step, until she was directly in front of him, barely three inches apart, and took his hand and placed it on her breast, over her heart.

"I want this...and I want you…" she added, reached out to lightly trace her finger down his happy trail, until she could hook the end of her finger into his green sash. She kept it there, no lower, no higher, and her eyes flickered up to his.

"But...if it's a problem, who my daddy is, and if you don't think you can handle that...then I suppose there isn't anything I can do," her voice was a husky purr, at odds with what she was telling him, but she was still so damn horny for him that she couldn't calm herself down. Not only that, she'd seen the flicker in his gaze when she'd mentioned her father; she'd been right.

She resisted the urge to smile in success for having figured out his little hissyfit, and studied him with her molten eyes. The way he looked, with his expression hot and hungry for her but his body tense and hesitant, she could see every quivering muscle, and it made her flush with even more heat. He had so much power restrained in those muscles of his.

But no matter how horny _she_ was for him, it wouldn't change anything if he didn't want to be messing around the the daughter of his swords master.

"You let me know when you've gotten over that fact, and are willing to stand up for what YOU want," she finished, leaning forward to pressed her lips to his chest in a brief kiss, before she turned her back to him, and slowly started walking away, her hips and her bare ass swaying seductively as she went, her toned legs shimmering in the low setting sun. She'd already decided to stand up to Mihawk for what she wanted...any man worthy of her has to be able to do the same.

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><p>Zoro stared, and he knew that she was completely insulting him. He knew that he should feel upset at her that she thought he wasn't good enough to stand up to Mihawk. But his hand on her bare breast had him riveted and her words, while slighting, were whispered so that all it did was cool his hesitation and work him over like she always did.<p>

And it was over. She turned around and starting strutting away from him, purposely drawing his hot gaze down to her hips, the water swirling temptingly around her. Ah man, she was fucking with him now. She wanted to get a rise out of him. Well, she succeeded. His desire to assure her that the last thing he was afraid of was her old man overrode his slight panic at the way she made him feel. They'd been dancing around this issue for weeks, and it had been a continuous game of give and take. He was sick of it. His hands balled into fists. Well, it was time to end this game. He probably would have shut her down earlier if she wasn't so damn appealing and beguiling to him. He'd let his curiosity and his desire override any irritation he'd felt towards her for her childish games.

Determined, he faced her retreating back.

Tikka couldn't suppress her smug smile as she counted down in her head to the moments before she heard the sound of water swirling as he stormed after her. A part of her had been expecting that; after all, her daddy _had_ agreed to train him for a reason, so he obviously had balls. What she hadn't been expecting was the ferocity in his eyes when he grabbed her wrist and yanked her around to face him. He tipped her chin up until she could meet his heated gaze, his thumb feathering over her pouty bottom lip.

"I'm not afraid of your father, little girl," he told her, eyes tracking the movement of his thumb, "I plan on kicking his ass. I hope that doesn't make this awkward for you." He kissed her, a demanding, scorching kiss that told her more about the frustration he'd been bottling up than any words ever could. His hand dropped to cup her breast again, no longer hesitant. He knew she liked it from the way she writhed against him.

He picked her up again so that her legs wrapped around his hips and the contact sent a tremor of lightning up his spine, more aware of her than even before. He was still insane over her, so hot with desire, but his confidence in _her_ desire helped level him; at least he knew he wasn't the only mindless one. He knew what he wanted and after her little schpeel, he knew that she wanted it too.

"Let's end this little game of cat and mouse you've been playing with me, Tikka...no more teasing me," he growled against her lips aggressively, and a thrill went through her, coupled with a husky chuckle as she nodded her head in absent agreement.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing her closer to him, and he dragged his mouth over her skin, down her neck, his tongue darting out to taste the water dripping over her shoulders and collarbone. But he didn't stop there, continuing his pathway south, driven by curiosity and instinct. If she went crazy when he stroked her breasts with his hand...would she like his lips on them more? He had to know.

With one arm supporting her ass, the other slid up her sides to cup one of her breasts. He dropped his head to take the other taut peak into his mouth, swirling his tongue over it. The action shot heat down into the bottom of his stomach. Blindly, he walked them until he was on the shore again and his feet brushed against the towel she'd laid out, warm in the sun. Oblivious to the water saturating the material, he dropped onto the towel so that she was essentially in his lap.

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><p>Tikka felt a rush of triumph and heady excitement from his words about her father. The way his thumb caressed her lips and the way his eyes were dark with a possessive heat rocked her to the core. A rush of warmth centered in her womb and heat rose fast to her cheeks, her eyes sparking with lust and darkening to molten gold.<p>

He claimed her mouth, and she could feel something in her shift, could feel that he'd claimed another part of her too...her undying respect. Not an ounce of fear had showed in his determined gaze as he outlined the demise of her father, and while she'd never admit it to anyone, not even under torture, it sent a thrill of excitement through her, to know he actually stood a chance at whooping her old man.

Within moments, he rendered her speechless and mindless when he hauled her up, cupped her breast, and then dropped his lips to trace a trail of fire down her neck, over her collarbone, and along the swell of her breast before he captured his nipple between his lips.

She went wild, her hips grinding against his, her legs tightening around his waist, her head falling to the side to expose the line of her throat. She arched her back to press her belly against his, and thrust her breasts closer to those devastating lips of his.

Her stomach, already tight with desire, suddenly flipped over as gravity went out beneath her, and she was suddenly straddling him on her blanket, her hot core pressed over the bulge in his pants, not a lick of clothing covering her fit and tan body.

Nude to him now, her unusual birthmark-the one her mother had shared, according to her father-became apparent. A cluster of freckles over her right hip arranged, when one unfocused the eyes a little, into the shape of a blooming rose.

She pulled back, sitting up to marvel down at him, her hands on his shoulders, her hair tumbling around her face in half-dried white curls. "Zoro, you are a man of worth," she murmured, her voice husky and sultry, her eyes hot. Her gaze flickered over his muscled chest. He made her crazy for him, her whole body turned. She leaned forward to nip at his lower lip, then insistently pushed him back, flat on his back, to capture his lips in a deeper kiss, her breasts brushing against his chest, her hips grinding down into his as small moans slipped from her lips. Her hair cascaded around them like a curtain.

Zoro was almost shellshocked from how turned on her was. There were some in the world that would question his sanity; some said that he was truly a demon, that he lived for the thrill of battle and the smell of blood. Some said the way of the sword made him crazy.

He never thought he was mad, always knew he had a clear mind and conscious and maybe a touch of masochism. But what she was doing to him, the way she pushed him down flat on his back and kissed the ever living hell out of him and ground her hips against him, he thought that he might just have found something to constitute the rumors of his crazed mind. She most definitely did make him crazy.

As a male in the bounty hunting business and then as a pirate, it was irrational to assume that he didn't know a thing or two about desire and pleasure and women. He hardly paid attention really because he was so focused on his goal, but being a post-pubescent male, he wasn't naive about the pursuit of pleasure. What she was doing to him went beyond anything he ever imagined or experienced. Times the bounty on his head.

With her straddling him as she was, rocking her body against him, his hands travelled to engulf the whole picture of her nakedness, from bare shoulders to bare ass, where he settled his palms, subtly pushing her hips harder against him, reveling in the heat and pleasure. They were soaking wet, her skin slick and soft, dripping over him. His skin was so alive that he could feel the individual tendrils of water cascading over him.

She may have been kissing his socks off, but those feelers of aggressive domination crept over him and he had the innate desire to control her; in other words, for her not to be blanketing over him like this and preventing him from moving. She was so slight that she hardly inhibited him as he swung a leg over her hip and rolled them over, bracing his elbows on either side of her head and one knee between hers. He discovered his hands weren't as free so he had to make up with his mouth, his breath coming so fast that it stuttered as he skated over her neck, down her collarbone, over her breasts and lost his nerve at her navel before heading back up.

Tikka found being pinned beneath him to be just as heady as being on top. Her heart skipped a beat, then started thundering in her chest at the look of pure intensity and concentration on his harshly defined features. His eyes were blazing, and she caught fire from them.

She squirmed under his kisses, panting, small pleas escaping her lips as her fingers delved into his hair and her hips shifted insistently. Hot, hot, HOT! She never realized how powerful these feelings were. She would rather DIE than allow this moment between them to end.

He started kissing down her body, and she went even more wild under him, her head falling back, her back arching to lift her breasts to meet his lips. And then he went down...down...doowwwnnn…

Then he stopped, and started making his way up. Her womb clenched in protest, her body crying out for him to keep going down, rather than back up, though she wasn't entirely sure why. The idea of a man's lips between her legs should have been embarrassing...but it wasn't. In fact, she wanted his lips everywhere on her body.

Her eyes flew open and she released his hair, lifting her head up to catch his lips mid-air, using one hand to pull him down firmly until she was near mindless with the taste of him, and surely he would feel the same. And she hoped that, in his distraction…

Her hands both went between them, reaching down as she brushed her fingers along the ridges of his abs, lower still, until she could hook her fingers into the dark material of his pants, and promptly tug them down.

Her lips curled at the corner into a smile. Her fingers met bare skin against his hip, and she found herself immeasurably more aroused by that fact. She moved swiftly, not giving him time to stop her, and pushed his pants all the way down to his knees, then swiftly rose up and forced him to roll over in a similar move to the one he pulled on her.

When all the dust settled, so to speak, she was straddling Zoro's thighs, her hands on either side of his torso, with a wicked gleam in her golden eyes. He was...no less magnificent than the man, if not more so. In moments like this, Loo's diva influence came out in her. She hadn't seen too many, being raised on an isolated island devoid of any men but her father and a gay bodyguard, with the occasional Shanks, but she would definitely have to give his dick an A + in her book. She judged that by the fact that a deep blush instantly rose to her cheeks and her breath caught in her throat. Any reaction like that to a sight like his...well, it certain had her heart galloping in her chest.

But first...her grin turned even more wicked, more seductive, and her fingers relocated to span across his flat abs with her right hand, and to hold his hip down with her other. She may have zero experience, but that didn't mean hadn't heard things-especially with drunk Shanks singing pirate songs-or that she couldn't think for herself what might be pleasurable.

She hoped this would be. After all, she had wanted him to do it to her... She lowered her head, parted her lips, and drew his length into her mouth. The hand on his stomach shifted, sliding down his abdomen until she could wrap her little fingers around the base of his shaft and grip him tightly as she started to experiment, licking, suckling, and pumping her fist ever slightly.

Zoro was utterly mindblown. Moments before, he'd been in control, but faster than he could have guessed, before he had had an opportunity to pause and think about the consequences of it, she'd undid the tie of his pants and pushed them down his hips and kicked them to his ankles. And damn him if he didn't finish the job for her and shake his feet out of the offending material, leaving him completely bare for her.

Not that nudity was a huge issue for him. He worked his body hard and therefore he had little shame or embarrassment over it. But to be so exposed to her during such an intimate act… well, it was enough to raise the core temperature of his blood and startle him enough that she was able to flip him back over again.

Naked skin to naked skin was an arousal all on its own. He thought it had been madness to feel her body pressed against his WITH clothes on, but he hadn't comprehended just how amazing it was to feel her skin rubbing against his, zero friction: super hot.

She flickered her eyes up to his, molten gold and something wicked passed through them that sent a shot of adrenaline straight to the bottom of his stomach. He recognized that look now… she was plotting to undo him somehow. She spanned her hand over his tight stomach and the other on his hip, effectively stilling him and his heart jumped into his throat. What was she doing…?

He nearly came off the blanket the second she sucked him into her mouth, her hand dragged over him to grasp him and pump gently. It was a sublime sensation, a painful pleasure. He'd experienced nothing like it before, his nerve endings tingled. He threaded his hands through her curls but he wasn't sure if it was to stop her or to make sure it never ended.

His climax came fast, swift, and unexpectedly; never in a thousand lifetimes could he have stopped it, though he did try. He blamed her for his quick release, since she'd been giving him blue balls for weeks at this point. He was completely at her mercy and all he could do was groan some rendition of her name as a plea, a curse, a warning, as she worked him over with her deft mouth and even more skilled hands.

Colors exploded and sensations popped vividly. He was stunned for a moment, but the feel of her body body still straddling him brought him back to earth, and he snapped. He gripped her by her curls even harder and dragged her up over him, his lungs working on overdrive to feed oxygen to his spinning head. He was sluggish from the release of his lust, but driven. He kissed her hard, aggressively, urged on by the way she made him feel, by the lingering trembles coursing through his bloodstream and the bold way she had taken control and touched him.

He flipped her over again and when he dragged his mouth over her body, he didn't stop at her belly button this time. He was dimly aware that he was harsher this time around, rougher and more demanding, his fingers digging into the skin of her hip, but he was on a mission and he wasn't about to quit until she was writhing against the blanket and begging his name like she had earlier.

An eye for an eye...

He claimed her sex with his mouth hard and swift, cocking one of her knees up and curling one hand under her hip. This other hand settled on the flat of her abdomen.

* * *

><p>With her fingers wrapped around him, Tikka didn't know much about the ways between a man and a woman, but she DID know that she must be doing something right. His hips were shifting insistently with the need to thrust, and she could see the muscles of his abs, his neck, his shoulders, all tensing up the moment before suddenly, he was grinding out her name, his head thrown back.<p>

It was the hottest moment of her life. Her hips unconsciously undulated, her sex was wet and hot for him, turned on even more by the sight of his pleasure. Her lips and tongue made quick work of a clean-up, gently licking up every drop until the situation was suddenly taken out of her hands and she was suddenly flipped over again, finding herself on her back.

She couldn't help grinning at him. This was like a game of cat and mouse, but she wasn't complaining.

Her legs fell open at his nudging even before she understood his intention. Her breasts trembled from her panting breaths, her eyes were glazed and hungry, and her hair was wild, haloing out around her head like a sea-goddess' crown.

He cocked a leg up, tilting her hip for a better vantage as his mouth claimed her. The moment he made contact, pleasure shot up and down her spine. She unconsciously spread her legs wide, offered her hips up to him in wanton need.

"Zoro...yessss…" she hissed, her eyes sliding closed, her head tilting up as her back arched and her body tightened. It happened so fast, so unexpectedly, that all she could do was grab onto the blanket beneath them and hold on for dear life as her hips suddenly bucked, her stomach tightened, and a cry was ripped from her lips.

The orgasm hit her like a sea train, and sent her soaring with so much pleasure it bordered on pain, and Zoro was relentless, pushing her higher, making her cry out his name multiple times before she couldn't take it anymore. She twisted away from him, pushing herself back and away as her body thrummed and pulsed with the lingering aftershocks.

She went limp as she came down from the unexpected pleasure, her eyes sliding open to stare up at the darkened sky. After a moment with only their panting to be heard, and with shaking arms, she managed to push herself up until she could rest on her elbows and gaze across at him with dazed eyes. She shuddered as another aftershock of pleasure went through her, then a sly and well sated smile curved the corners of her lips up.

Zoro was still a little floored by what had just taken place. It had never occurred to him that this could potentially be one of the hottest moments of his life. She'd been writhing beneath him, tossing her head back and forth and moaning his name, which had sent lightning bolts up his spine. So he had been relentless to her, as she was relentless to him and when she came, it was fierce and still, he wasn't finished with her. It was only when she pushed his head and scrambled away from him that he sat up and stared at her, slightly at awe with what had just transpired between them. He certainly had not envisioned this when he'd left the ship earlier.

Now there was a moment of silence, interrupted only by the sound of the water and their breathing. Twilight had closed in around them and fireflies glowed through the greenery. Heart beats began to calm as Zoro and Tikka stared each other down, heat still lingering between them

Then… a slow, wicked smile crept over her face and his stomach tightened. Her curls fell half over her shoulders and her eyes bored right through him, molten, sexy gold. He couldn't help it; he mirrored her smirk. Despite the fact that they just did something unthinkable, something he never would have imagined that he would ever get involved in, especially with the daughter of Hawkeye Mihawk, he felt a swirl of giddy contentment that he hardly experienced.

"You are a devil," he said to her, leaning over to steal a hard kiss from her that left him feeling dizzy before he rolled away from her and snatched up his pants. His shirt was long gone at the bottom of the lagoon; there wasn't even a point in trying to retrieve it. He wrapped his sash around his hips and tucked his swords into it, "Put some clothes on. Let's go back to the ship," he told her, and one look at her still-naked body sent his blood pressure spiking.

Man, being around her was going to give him a heart attack.

Tikka blinked and quickly got to her feet. The smirk on his face, one that mirrored hers, sent a different kind of warmth through her stomach. She knew right then that he was going to be trouble for her. She could lose her heart to a guy like him.

Deciding those thoughts were a bit too heavy for the moment, she pushed herself to her feet, pulling the blanket up and over her breasts as an afterthought as she wandered over the beach to where she'd stashed her clothing. As she dressed, she watched him and the way he moved. Her eyes slid over the slight tensing and shifting of the well-worked muscles of his back, bare and delicious.

Another smile curved her lips, and she forced herself to turn away get dressed, or they were never going to get back to the ship.

Not when she wanted to devour him every time she saw him, especially now that she'd had a taste.

And man was he tasty…

Sighing ruefully, Tikka plopped her hat on her head and plucked her sword from the sand, preparing for the long hike back.

* * *

><p>an- I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review because it helps with our writing!


	14. 14 Dance! The Pirate Ball!

It was late, and the moon was high in the sky, when Tikka and Zoro finally strolled into the town, only to find that excitement was lacing the air.

Tikka's interest was instantly piqued. She reached out, so casually, not even thinking, and lightly tugged on Zoro's hand, "Come on, let's see what's going on!"

With a grin over her shoulder at him, her eyes dancing, she took off, weaving through the crowd and finally found herself at the docks, stopping dead. Her mouth popped open in surprise.

Tied to the docks as a GIANT ship, and as her eyes filtered up the side, over the railing, and up to the flag, her heart stuttered. It was...the Pirate Ball.

She'd heard about this ship from her father, who avoided this ship like the plague. It was a bunch of pirates who believed that Piracy didn't have to be ugly or dirty, and that even pirates deserved Balls in their honor.

"Tikka! Tikka! Where have you been! Did you see?" Tikka whirled around at Luffy's voice, seeing her captain waving at her as he ran towards them. A huge grin was plastered on his face. Over his shoulders, she could see Sanji and Robin standing together, and Chopper pulling at Robin's shorts, clearly asking what was going on.

"It's the Pirate Ball!" Tikka answered, grinning an identical grin to Luffy's.

"That's amazing!" Luffy exclaimed back at her in the same pitch of delight.

"Apparently, the ball is tomorrow night. They have dress and tuxedo rentals and stores on the ship. Isn't that incredible?" Nami suddenly appeared, staring up at the ship with interest. "I hope their prices are reasonable..." she added speculatively.

Tikka grinned, and took a step to the side to loop her arm into Nami's. "Who cares? Let's do that tomorrow! I love dresses!"

Nami laughed and nodded, but Tikka couldn't help but notice the glance she gave Luffy out of the corner of her eye, one that made Tikka instantly curious, setting her drama-detector buzzing.

* * *

><p>"Man, this is so AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed.<p>

Zoro thought Luffy usually only ever looked this excited when he was faced with a plate load of meat. With a gleeful chuckle, he grabbed the front of Zoro's shirt and dragged him towards the men's dressing rooms. Behind them, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky close behind.

It was evening time already and all day, it had become apparent to much of the island that the Pirate Ball ship had arrived. People came out of the woodwork in interest; people, Zoro was pretty positive, that weren't actually pirates, but were coming to enjoy the festivities anyway. The girls had already gone all giggly before and disappeared into the women's dressing room and if it was anything like what Zoro was looking at now, they were going to be a while.

The place was gigantic; rows and rows of hangers with clothing and accessories. Everything anyone could possibly ever want to have was here in this place. Scattered around were members of the pirate crew, there to assist other hopelessly lost males trying to find something to wear that wasn't bloody or dirty.

Luffy could hardly contain himself. In a second, he raced down the aisles, literally leaving dust in his trail. Zoro followed him with an eye roll. Behind him, Sanji and the rest of the boys were idly perusing. Chopper was staring at some suits with stars in his eyes, touching the soft silk with his human-ish hands. Zoro reached out and touched one of the tuxedos hanging up and cocked and eye brow. No way was he going to wear any of this crap. He was not cut for this.

"ZORO!"

He snapped his head up to see Luffy coming his way, a regal expression on his face, "THIS is what I'm going to wear," he had a red jacket with gold shoulder tassels and gold buttons running down the lapels. It looked like a replica of Gol D. Roger's jacket and it fit him surprisingly well, "I'm the king of the pirates!"

"That fits the bill," Zoro agreed, "You gonna wear something different underneath that?" he glanced at Luffy's red sleeveless shirt and blue surf shorts.

"Nope."

He could understand that.

"You aren't going to wear ANYTHING ELSE?" Sanji came up behind Zoro and was giving Luffy the hairy eyeball, "The king of the pirates should dress sharp. You'll wear a tux for the ladies."

"Nope." Luffy's defiant comment was echoed by Zoro.

Five minutes later, both the captain and the master swordsman were ushered into a fitting room, each sporting identical eggs on their heads and watering eyes.

Damn cook caught him off guard.

Tux after tux after tux was thrust into the room and Zoro was forced to try them on. Though, once he got a solid black on black one on and got a good look at himself in the mirror, he decided it wasn't so bad after all. He looked good, sharp, maybe even a little menacing. He was simple in a black blazer, slacks and black button down underneath. He opened the door at the same time as Luffy did and they both gave each other the once over.

"This is hard," Luffy complained, tugging at the sleeves. He was dressed exactly opposite of Zoro in solid white, "It isn't as exciting anymore."

"Add the jacket," Zoro nodded, "Then it'll be more exciting."

Luffy snapped his fingers, "So right!" he darted into the dressing room and came out with the pirate jacket over his shoulders, "Oh ya. Way better."

The smell of cigarette smoke preceded Sanji's arrival, "You guys ready?" he asked, taking a drag and releasing a smoke ring. He was in the full get up with a navy blue vest and tie and sleeve cuffs, "Can't keep the girls waiting."

* * *

><p>The day of the pirate ball was extremely busy, much to Tikka's surprise. The dress and tuxedo shop, at least the girls' one, was so busy with requests that they had to schedule their slot to get their dresses. Most of the male pirates tried to get in and out as fast as possible, so they hadn't been as busy.<p>

Tikka figured she'd have the rest of the day to try and find Zoro to corner him in some back alley, but once the dressing appointment had been made, Nami had mentioned something about a girl spa day and Robin had seconded the idea.

So, rather than finding Zoro, she'd spent the day surrounded by females instead. Which, it turns out, was really fun. In the morning, they'd laid out in their bikinis on the deck, enjoying drinks that Sanji kept bringing out for them. Afterwards, Nami had found a barber's shop that agreed to do some haircuts for them, followed by a mud facial, which, according to Nami, really improved the skin.

She sorta remembered Loo telling her that...

And once she remembered that Loo was also fond of "spa days," she made her own contributions to the spa day. Nami suggested going back to the boat, but Tikka stopped both of them with a perked brow. "THIS is what you call a spa day? Clearly, you've never lived with a flamboyant gay guy…"

With a glance between them, Robin and Nami both shrugged, grinned, and looked to her in expectation.

They then proceeded to get massages, endured a purifying sweat-out, then scrapped the sweat off before enjoying bubble baths drawn at the local in, and finally, rubbed fine oils into their skins, before Tikka gave them new make-up tips that had both surprised and delighted the lady pirates.

Tikka didn't wear make-up usually, but she'd watch Loo do it enough time that she was basically a pro. So before they went for their dressing appointment, they got all gussied up. By the end of everything, as they walked to the Pirate Ball Ship, Robin said, "I've never felt so...girly."

Nami snorted, "We deserve it. It's good for us to have days like this...we're constantly surrounded by dirty men on a pirate ship. This is healthy for us."

Tikka grinned, thinking that she'd had "pampering" most of her life, and much preferred the pirate ship, though she kept that thought to herself.

As they were led to the Dress Shop, Tikka was surprised by the opulence of the ship, but then remembered that the Captain was from one of the wealthiest of the noble families. A supposedly disowned member. He was the black sheep of the family, but wealthy none-the-less. He must really love parties, Tikka thought as she followed Nami and Robin into the room.

What met their eyes was an explosion of color. She was dazzled by all of the dresses, and all of the girls went over the appointed time simply because it was so hard to pick a dress.

Tikka had decided to go with red, because it was her favorite color. The gown was sleek and shimmering, a partial sheath dress that hugged her hour-glass form down to her knees, then gently flared out so that the silken material rippled with every step she took. The gown was strapless, held up by a golden rose clasp securing the bunched red silk above her breasts. Below the clasp, the fabric was slit open along the line of her cleavage and down along the center of her stomach to three inches above her navel in the shape of a curling tentacle, a fine lace stretched across the opening that did little to mask her tanned flesh. It was daring, but so was she, as Robin put it.

She'd grinned at that and plopped her hat on, completing the ensemble with Robin's amused chuckle to make her grin. A lady called Robin's name, finishing up the adjustments to the woman's dress, and Robin headed over in that direction, leaving Tikka to stare at herself in the mirror, feeling completely foreign in something so...beautiful.

"What do you think?" Nami's voice came from behind Tikka. She whirled around, the red fabric of her dress swirling out elegantly, to find Nami in a knock-out dress that left Tikka stunned.

The dress was white, with small gemstones woven into the fabric in a floral pattern across her breasts and down the left side, stopping at the top of the very high slit that came up to mid-thigh, and showing off Nami's long and elegant left leg. The dress was a sheath dress, much like Tikka's, but the top was an elegant halter with a silver clasp, leaving most of her back exposed as the dress slung low across her hips, almost low enough to show her ass. Essentially...breathtaking.

"Wow…Nami, that's beautiful," Tikka said in an awed voice, and Nami waved her hand dismissively.

"It's nothing compared to yours...you're a real bombshell Tikka."

Tikka grinned and winked, "I do my best."

"I'm sure Zoro will appreciate it," Nami added with a wink, and Tikka felt her face heat with awareness. Had it been that obvious? Or was Nami just as sensitive to that sort of thing as Tikka was?

Deciding that if Nami could be so casual about it, then Tikka was going to return the favor in regards to some thoughts she'd been having recently about the red-head. "Well," she said slyly, a cheeky grin pulling at her lips, "I'm sure _Luffy_ will appreciate your dress too."

Nami went utterly still, then her face cleared and she let out a laugh. "Why would Luffy notice something like that? It's just a dress. He's just as likely to notice yours or Robins." Nami said in a breathy, dismissive voice, then suddenly turned towards the rack holding jewelry and started oooing and awing over them. Tikka gave her a calculated look, then decided to table the topic for another time.

"Well ladies?"

Both turned to see Robin in a deep purple dress that came just shy of mid-thigh, and hugged her voluptuous body. Unlike Nami or Tikka's dress, hers was full sleeved, attached to her ring fingers with two gold rings. The front featured a scoop neck that revealed her generous cleavage, and mirrored the scoop back that displayed the sinuous curve of her spine, not quite as low as Nami's. The fabric shimmered with faint gold glitter. It was a sleek, stunning dress that had both girls gushed their appreciation of it.

* * *

><p>The three girls got to the ball late, since they'd taken so long with the dresses, and appeared to find that the party was already bustling with activity. People were chatting, some were dancing, and Luffy was eating.<p>

Tikka found him easily just by looking for the buffet table. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and then headed in that direction, since most of the crew was also within the vicinity of their voracious captain.

"Luffy, stop eating. You're not going to fit in your suit if you keep at it," Nami admonished, the first to speak as they came up to them. Franky and Sanji glanced over their shoulders...and almost fell over in their hurry to turn around and face them.

"Wow!" Sanji burst out, rushing forward to grab Nami, Robin, and Tikka's hands all in both of his. "You're so beautiful!"

"Who are you talking to?" Robin asked calmly, amusement flickering in her cool eyes.

"All of you!" Sanji swooned, and Tikka couldn't help but laugh. This was going to be a good night.

Zoro was fixing Chopper's tie when he heard Sanji's exclamation about the girls and when he turned around, his eyes instantly fixated on Tikka.

She was… devastating, in a word. Dressed in red, that damned color that turned him on just thinking about it, with a deep plunge in the front of her dress that showed off her massive cleavage. Tumbles of snowy curls fell from a chignon on the top of her head and danced around her bare shoulders. Even in his formal garb, he felt massively underdressed compared to her.

"Move it, cook," Zoro growled at Sanji, surprising even himself at the outburst, and forcibly removed his hand from Tikka's, "You don't get to touch her."

"I'll hold her hand if I want, mosshead," Sanji returned after a rather surprised but calculated look at the swordsman.

Zoro thumbed open the top of his sword, his temper taking over in the presence of the chef, "I'll stab you," he rumbled. It was a hand on each of their shoulders from Robin's flower flower fruit that had each of them backing down. Sanji waved a hand at him dismissively and went to chase after another woman. So easily satisfied, that man whore…

He glanced at Tikka with a half droll, half ravished look with an eye brow cocked up, "You had to wear the red, didn't you?" he muttered to her, low enough that no one else paid attention.

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe the food they had on this ship! Luffy had dragged his crew to the buffet table the moment they arrived so that he could stuff his face. He hadn't even gotten through his standard consumption when he heard the girls' voices and turned around, dinner roll stuffed in his cheek and another in his hand.<p>

His eyes skated over Tikka and Robin, acknowledging that they looked nice in dresses before his eyes hit Nami and his stomach did this strange roll over. He swallowed hard, downing the whole bun, and dropped the other one on the table.

He supposed it was because he rarely saw her in anything so formal before, but she was a knock out with the white halter and slit up her left side, showing off an awful lot of leg. And her coppery waves were pulled up in a twisty thing on the top of her head with a few pieces curling in front of her face.

"That's a nice dress on you, Nami," he told her, feeling like he was trying to talk around the bread in his esophagus, his voice tight.

Nami's eyes were instantly drawn to Luffy, and she was surprised to see that he matched her. Both of them wore white, though a red jacket made him look like he was already the King of the Pirates. In a word...he was more attractive than he'd ever been to her. He looked...mature. Sexy even.

Heat flushed in her cheeks, but she studiously avoided Luffy's stare, feeling uncomfortable when he merely glanced over the other two girls, and then openly stared at her. Why was he staring at her? He was normally so...clueless.

He had even complimented her dress, and she was at such a loss of words that she could only stare back at him, until Tikka casually bumped into her, jolting Nami out of her daze. Man, this... crush, interest, whatever, was getting out of hand. _Get a grip girl..._"Uh, thank you, Luffy." Nami responded, grateful for the distraction when Franky started singing madly about SUPA ladies. She shot Tikka a suspicious, though subtle, glare. What, exactly, was that girl doing? She seemed particularly...well, convenient. Did she know...?

Shrugging it off, she forced herself to look like she was enjoying herself. She actually WAS excited about the ball, so it wasn't too hard of a stretch, but her mind was constantly pulled back to that dark place, the knowledge that she had a limited amount of time before...before bad things happened.

She couldn't draw any more attention to herself than necessary, not until she'd figured out how to fix the bind she was in...with or without her crew, and Luffy's, help. Her eyes were drawn to the captain, now laughing and stuffing his face while chatting with Usopp, and her stomach tightened in anxiety. Suddenly, Tikka appeared in front of her and instantly struck up a conversation, to Nami's surprised relief. As they talked, she began to relax.

* * *

><p>Tikka's blood pressure spiked at the look in Zoro's eyes when he turned around at their approach and took her in. She LIKED that she had that affect on him, enjoyed the way she could turn his switch with a pretty dress.<p>

But then, he certainly turned her switches too. He looked positively devastating and dangerous, dressed black on black. He was dashing, sexy, and just plain hot. When he reclaimed her hand from Sanji, even briefly, a thrill went through her at the possessive gesture.

His words were like a declaration of ownership. She turned her eyes up to him, smiling softly and seductively, a smile meant just for him, as she reached up and trailed a finger down the silky fabric covering his hard chest. "I wore this color just for you, Zoro. I'm glad you like it."

She winked, then turned away to greet the rest of the crew, letting out a laugh when she caught sight of Franky, who'd clearly refused to wear pants and was wearing black, silky spankies instead. It matched the vest and jacket he'd donned.

Sanji looked immaculate in his navy suit, as ever, and his eyes were moving between Robin and Nami with excitement as if he couldn't decide who he wanted to ravish and drown with compliments more.

Her eyes were drawn back to Nami, and saw how she was staring at Luffy with a tight expression. Her curiosity about the girl and their captain had only increased since they'd arrived, especially with the expression on Luffy's face when he'd complimented Nami. _This just gets more and more interesting by the day!_ she thought with a mental giggle.

With a twinge of sympathy for whatever was going on in the navigators mind with such an unreadable expression on her face, she stepped up to Nami and drew her into a conversation, suspecting that the girl needed a break from her own thoughts.

Nearby, Sanji asked Robin to dance with an elaborate flourish that had the woman giggling into her hand. Tikka suppressed her own grin, and her eyes were inevitably drawn to Zoro.

She knew, without a doubt, that she was going to be staring at him all night long.

She turned back to Nami to ask her a question when suddenly a man stepped up onto the small stage located to the side of the giant dancing floor located in the center of the room. She knew, instantly, that the man was gay, because he walked with the same stride that Loo did.

"Ladies and Gentle-pirates," the man called, holding a megaphone to his lips to amplify to sound. "May I call your attention to the dance floor? A ball, my doves, is not a ball without DANCING."

He pronounced the word with glee, but she heard the mutters and groans that came from several of the pirates in the room. Many of these pirates she knew to be sworn enemies with one another, but everyone had been forced to sign a contract of amicability for the night, and if any fights occurred, that individual and their whole crew would be kicked off the ship, and would be put on a black list forbidding them from future balls.

Her eyes skittered over to Zoro at the mention of _dancing_, then back to the man as he started speaking again.

"Now, I KNOW that many of you fine pieces of ass can't dance," the man winked at a nearby pirate, who scowled blackly at him. The announcer, clearly a member of the Pirate Ball Crew, grinned despite the buff, and continued. "So, _I_ will be teaching _you_ how to dance. And you WILL dance." The pirate, jovial, clearly fun loving, suddenly turned serious, dire, and menacing, his black gaze sweeping the room with enough ferocity that even Tikka felt a minor shiver go down her spine, even if amusement rose sharply in her chest.

"So, please," the pirate continued, his smile sliding back into place, "find yourself a partner, and get your asses on the dance floor!"

Tikka grinned, and without a second thought hurried over to grab Zoro's hand, and started dragging him towards the floor, ignoring all and any protest.

Nearby, Franky turned to Robin, who had been standing next to him, and offered a hand with a large grin on his face. She accepted with a gracious tilt of her head, laughter dancing in her eyes from Franky's exaggerated movements as he drew her towards the floor. Sanji was running like a madman between three different women, clearly unable to choose who to ask to dance first, while the women barely constrained their laughter. Chopper was laughing with a young pirate girl who was smitten with his huge arms and blue nose. Usopp had been snagged and was in a deep conversation with a some lady who's outfit, riddled with bits and bobs, clearly screamed I-Build-Things-For-Fun, which was perfect for him. That would leave...Nami and Luffy.

Tikka grinned, and turned to face Zoro as they arrived in the center of the dance floor. "I already know how to dance, so you can follow my lead if you want," she murmured, her eyes instantly going warm and alluring as her mind shifted from plotting the doom of her nakama to...well...Zoro.

* * *

><p>Luffy's eyes lit up as the strange ostentatious man jumped up onto the little stage and starting explaining the events for the evening. Dancing! That sounded like so much fun! He didn't know much about how to dance. What better time than now to learn?<p>

"Come on, Nami! Let's learn how to dance!" Luffy grabbed her hand and nothing short of dragged her onto the floor, his spare hand holding his straw hat to his head.

"Alright, fine gentle-pirates! Take your lovely lady's right hand with your left and place your right hand on her hip," the gay man clapped his hands together, "Now, get to it!"

Luffy glanced around for reference and made a face of hard concentration before doing exactly what he was told… at an arm's distance away from Nami, "This doesn't look right…" he muttered to her just as the dance instructor approached them.

"Oh, no, sugar," he tisked, giving Luffy a once over as Luffy stared blankly back, "You need to get CLOSER." And with that, the flamboyant gentleman placed his hands on the small of their backs and thrust them together, hard, until Luffy and Nami were literally hip to hip, chest to chest. The action forced his hand around to the small of her back, his hand brushing over the exposed skin. Instantly the excitement of learning to dance was seriously compromised by her pressed against him and that hard-to-explain Mystery Feeling swirled through his blood.

The instructor gave a nod of approval, "Much better, baby cakes," he winked at Luffy and took off to aggravate the next couple on his prowl.

"That guy was checking me out…" Luffy leaned down to whisper in Nami's ear, "I should kick his ass for that."

"Okay, lovelies! And a 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4!" and the music began in a slow waltz.

* * *

><p>Zoro grit his teeth, his thoughts stuck on that vibrant dress of hers. She wore it just for him, huh? The way she walked her fingers up his chest had his heart doing somersaults and mentally, he couldn't help but undress her with his eyes. Other women had men at "hello". She had him at "let's fight."<p>

The dance instructor came onto the stage and Tikka started pulling him onto the dance floor, explaining that because she already knew all the formal dances, that she would lead. He gave her a cursory glance with a raised brow. _Her_ lead _him_ in a dance? Even if dancing wasn't his thing, he was confident that he would do the leading in anything they did. He wasn't about to let her do it for him.

"I'll do it," he told her, failing to suppress the commanding air in his voice as he grasped her hand and her hip, inadvertently running his palm over the satiny material. Oh, fuck him…

"You aren't wearing any panties…" he growled accusingly in her ear as he pulled her in closer to him. She was going to kill him before the end of the night, what with their encounter the night before still ringing in his head.

"Okay kiddies! 1 and 2 and 3 and 4! Forward and back, forward and back!" the instructor's pitched voice echoed through the megaphone, guiding them through the steps. He tried to lead, and was helped considerably by the fact that Tikka already knew the steps.

Tikka couldn't suppress the sensual smirk that lifted the corners of her lips when he whispered in her ear about the status of her undergarments...that being, none.

"That was also just for you," she whispered back, then when it was her turn to step forward and his turn to step back, she extended her stride just enough to press her body flush against his with enough pressure to allow him to feel every curve of her body through the thin, satiny material hugging it.

"In fact, just consider most of what I do tonight...to be aimed towards you," she added wickedly, then shifted her hips to brush against the bulge in his pants provocatively before they swept around full circle, now moving in the reverse.

"Wow! Someone looks like they know how to dance!" A gasping and flattering voice suddenly came from behind her, interrupting their dance and jolting her out of her frame of mind. She looked over her shoulder to see the instructor beaming at them, one of the few couples not belonging to the Pirate Ball crew who was more-or-less successfully dancing.

"Well, when Loo Bear is your instructor, you learn how to dance," Tikka threw out offhandedly, figuring the guy would have no idea what she was talking about, intending her comment more for Zoro's benefit than anything else.

"Loo Bear?" The man practically shrieked, earning him a few scowls from nearby dancers. "You know Loo-Loo the Honey Bear?"

Tikka stopped, effectively forcing Zoro to stop with a scowl, and gaped at him. "Loo...Loo...the Honey...Bear?" she asked slowly, trying to keep the laughter from her voice. She'd never heard THAT nickname before.

The man blushed, actually blushed, and Tikka slapped a hand over her eyes. "Oh, gross!"

The man opened his mouth to say something, a sheepish expression on his face, when he suddenly whipped around away from her and pointed to a pair of pirates who had given up and were trying to sneak off the dance floor. "I see you! You can't escape, my lambs...not until this dance is over! ONE two thee ONE two three, keep at it!"

And just like that, the pirate was gone to corral the dancers like an anxious shepherd.

Tikka shook her head and turned back to Zoro with a somewhat pained expression on her face. "I think I just met one of my nanny's exes...that was weird. Hurry, distract me from such horrendous thoughts." Tikka stepped back into position, feeling a shiver run down her spine the moment his hard body was pressed up against her soft one once again. So easily did her body tune itself to him; it was a little unnerving. But Tikka thrived on that kind of excitement, perhaps part of why he drew her so. She smiled up at him.

"Shall we?" she asked. She placed her hand back on his shoulder, and her thumb idly feathered over the flesh of his neck, a physical twitch that mirrored the heat rising in her eyes as she refocused her world on him. Every since the events at the lagoon the day before, she couldn't stop thinking about his delicious body and the fire in his eyes when he was touching her. It was an addictive rush that she didn't think she'd ever get enough of.

* * *

><p>Nami stiffened when Luffy grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the dance floor. She dug in her heels a little, not that he noticed in the least, feeling like this was a terrible idea. Luffy was just being silly, and dancing with him was sooooo not going to help her situation right now.<p>

His cluelessness was torture, honestly. So when he turned to face her and did as instructed by extending his arms all of the way, she thought she'd be safe. This wasn't so bad...dancing with her captain like this would be a breeze...he was probably going to laugh and kid his way through it.

Lighthearted=good.

So she relaxed, laughing at Luffy as he tried to follow the steps from such a distance, but the situation went south when suddenly the dance instructor pirate suddenly appeared next to them, tsking.

Just like that, the guy shoved them body to body, and Nami suddenly couldn't pay attention to what Luffy was whispering in her ear. All she could hear was a slight buzzing in her head as she instantly registered all of Luffy's hard angles pressed intimately against her, with only some flimsy silk to separate her from him.

At least the material of his tuxedo made it a little more ambiguous, and therefore, more bearable.

Desperately seeking a way out of this situation, she started scanning the room for some excuse to step away, but that was right when the instructor suddenly shouted at a few couples trying to sneak off the dance floor.

Damn...she definitely wasn't going to draw attention to herself like that.

She was attempting to ignore the way Luffy felt in her arms when suddenly, the doors to the ballroom burst open, and a group of people walked in all at once. Who…?

"It's Red-Hair Shanks!" someone said nearby, and like a cue, the whole Dancing Theme fell apart as pirates rushed off the dance floor to get a glimpse and greet him, others muttering under their breaths and crossing their arms with glares.

Nami blinked. "Shanks?" she asked, turning and stepping back from Luffy to get a good look at the Captain of the new arrivals, clearly standing in the middle. He had red hair, as per his name, and the grin on his face was...suspiciously like Luffy's.

"How dare you interrupt my dance lesson!" The gay pirate called dramatically, but no one was listening to him anymore. The man stomped his foot and cross his arms over his chest, then looked like he was going to burst into tears when the music suddenly changed from the waltz to something more...upbeat and, as far as Nami was concerned, much more appropriate for a gathering of pirates.

"Why does this always happen?" he lamented, looking like he was going to feint.

"Face it, Ronzo, pirates just aren't meant to Waltz," another pirate called from across the room, another member of the Pirate Ball Pirates.

At that, Ronzo the flamboyant pirate dance instructor burst into tears and ran from the room. Nami covered a smile with her hand as Luffy took off towards the crowd of people gathering around the newcomers.

At the change in music, some people started dancing, REALLY dancing, and Nami was grateful for the distraction. While Shanks drew many people's attention, especially Luffy's, and dancing and socializing drew the rest, she slipped away, needing air. She finally escaped outside onto the deck, and found for herself a quiet corner. She leaned against the wall, tilting her head back.

A soft breeze ruffled her hair, and she realized with a start that there was sweat beading her brow. She cursed under her breath and reached down to the garter around her right leg, and to the small pill she's hidden there. She slipped it out...then popped it into her mouth, gulping in some air while she was at it.

Time...she was running out of time…

She was going to have to leave soon...she had no choice.

* * *

><p>AN-New Chapter! I hope you like :) Nami and Luffy's story is soon to be published up on Jesachi's site, so stay tuned!


	15. 15 Red Hair Shanks Arrives!

~~LEMON WARNING~~

Every dance step brought her hot and soft body pressed up against his for such fleeting moments at a time that it was frustrating the hell out of Zoro. He tightened his grip on her so that she was forced to stay close to him, so much so that she was practically standing on his feet. Between her wicked eyes and her thumb circling over his neck, she wasn't going to let him last through this entire ball. He was going to whisk her away somewhere dark and private and do all those things those sultry eyes hinted to him.

Then, commotion broke out when a small group of people entered the pirate ball and that gave him the perfect opportunity to slip away. He was so done with this dancing shit. While everyone was rushing the door and the gay instructor started bawling, Zoro snatched Tikka's hand and tugged her through the crowd to the opposite side of the room. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he needed to be alone with her. All he could think about was how she'd made him feel the day before, and he wanted more.

What was she doing to him? She unravelled all of his discipline...but he couldn't find a reason to fight it.

He spotted a door that looked like it might be a storage room. Without a second thought, he changed his course towards it and yanked open the door, all but shoving her inside the blackness before slamming the door shut behind him.

Neither of them heard who had interrupted the ball.

It was so dark that he couldn't see the hand in front of his face, but he didn't need his eyes to seek her out. He could sense her presence and moved towards her like a predator until he could push her against the wall with his body. Without his eyesight, everything was amplified, the feel of her body, soft and curvaceous and hot and pliant. His hands immediately went to her hips, caressing over the silky material that flowed over her figure.

"You have been asking for this all night..." he growled, leaning in to drag his mouth over her neck, his hands sliding up over her hip to her stomach and ribcage, slipping his hand under her strapless dress until he could palm her bare breast.

* * *

><p>Chaos ensued when a few people walked into the dancing hall and Nami stepped away from him to get a good look. But Luffy had already caught a glimpse of the red hair just as someone said nearby, "It's Red-Haired Shanks!"<p>

Shanks was here? Holy shit! He hadn't seen that guy in ages! He hadn't been exactly conscious when they'd both been present at the war. Luffy started through the crowd, pushing people out of his way until he could get in sight of the pirate captain, who had already spotted the Straw Hat and started making his own beeline to Luffy. They met somewhere in the middle.

"Hey, Shanks!" he greeted with a grin.

"Luffy! Nice to see you again!" he reached out and laid a hand on his head, holding onto the straw hat, "Looks like my hat is in good shape still."

"Yep!"

Shanks took a moment to stare at him, then laughed, "God damn! I'm looking at you eye-to-eye right now. When did you start growing?"

Luffy blinked at him, "When I was born…"

Shanks laughed, "That is true."

"Are you here to party?" Luffy asked.

"Of course! Even though you haven't surpassed me yet, let's get a drink together!" Shanks ribbed him with a grin.

Luffy glared and punched him in the arm. "You just wait Shanks, you just wait."

* * *

><p>Tikka had all eyes for Zoro, so when a commotion broke out near the entrance, she was too distracted to check out who'd just arrived. She was in the middle of turning her head towards the door when suddenly Zoro was pulling her through the crowd in the opposite direction.<p>

What was he doing…? She didn't understand until he suddenly beelined for what looked like a storage closet, and her stomach tightened in reflex as heat flushed through her. He couldn't be…

Yep, he was.

As the door shut behind them, she was suddenly crowded back against the wall by Zoro's body. Her hands reached out to grab his shirt and resisted the urge to rip it apart. It was a rental, after all, so she carefully unbuttoned it, one button at a time, as she squirmed under him, her breaths coming short and fast. She knew this was a little out of character for him, and wondered if she'd really been riding him that hard.

The thought made her even more breathless. Zoro out of control was even more sexy that Zoro in control.

"Zoro, you make me mindless with wanting you," she confessed huskily in the dark, wishing she could see his face but too absorbed in the feel of his hand on her breast and his body urgently pressing against hers to overly care.

It made touching all the more...electrifying.

His shirt finally unbuttoned, she moved her hands up his stomach and over his chest until she could slide her fingers under the material and over his shoulders, effectively pushing both shirt and jacket off until she heard them hit the ground with a soft thud.

Bare from the waist up, she couldn't get enough of him. Her hands were everywhere, sliding over his skin with relish and with urgency, wanting him closer, hotter. She arched her back, and found that the evidence of his own excitement was pressed tightly against her stomach. She was slinking against him like a cat in heat, her lips finding his neck and traveling up until she could draw his earlobe into her mouth and gently tease it with her tongue as her fingers drifted lower now, to the hem of his pants, trailing her fingertips over the dips and curves of his hips in a not-so-subtle hint for him to remove the offending garments.

Zoro's breath came in short bursts as every fiber in his being wanted her in any way he could have her. He wanted her writhing against him, begging his name. Just the thought of those little noises she made yesterday when he'd pleasured her had fire racing through his blood, fueled by her hands as she unbuttoned his shirt agonizingly slow until she could push it from his shoulders.

Her comments spiked his adrenaline but at the same time, he grabbed her chin with his hand and tilted her face up to his, "Stop talking," he demanded, silencing her with a scorching kiss.

He couldn't get enough of her and the insatiability of his lust was overwhelming. The clip that held the top half of her dress together snapped open as he forced the material away from her breast so that he could drop his head and suckle the peak into his mouth like she liked. The urgency in which they consumed each other was heady and arousing.

Her fingers toyed with the top of the rental slacks and with a quick motion, he undid the button-snap at the top and the material dropped further down his hips, not completely hitting the floor, but enough so that he could guide her hand down to touch him where he ached. As soon as her fingertips made contact, his breath came out in a hiss against her skin. He dipped his hands to hike her dress up to her hips and in the same motion, he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his hips, her bare breasts against his chest and her hot core against his lower abdomen.

Fuck him, she could not wear panties annnnnyyyy day of the week. He was a-okay with it.

Zoro skated his free hand up her shapely thigh until he reached the juncture in his hip. He flipped his hand over and with some trepidation, though it was mostly cancelled out by his hunger for her, he touched her and nearly came undone at how wet she was. He groaned and dragged his mouth off her breast up to her ear, "Do you like it when I do this?" he whispered raggedly, slipping a finger inside all that tight hotness.

Tikka's head spun from the burning heat that had shot through her when her core pressed against his bare abdomen. She reached around her own thigh, anchored around his waist, to wrap her fingers would his thick shaft, squeezing him gently and pumping her hand.

She could have kept going too, but when his hand skirted over her bare thigh and down to her wet heat, she was so stunned by the pleasure that ripped through her that she dropped him, wrapping her hands around his forearms instead to steady herself as she tilted her hips to better accommodate his hand.

Panting now, she moaned a rendition of his name and dug her fingernails into his flesh. She grinned at his question now, invisible in the darkness. She reached up to grab his chin, and mirrored his words, "Stop talking, Zoro." With a wicked gleam in her eye, she fused her lips with his and used her arms to leverage herself up his body a little, forcibly removing his hand from her, even if her body cried out in protest. She wanted more, and her body felt ready, begged her for it.

She couldn't have stopped what happened next if she wanted to. She was helpless to it. She reached around her thigh again, grasped his length, and guided it to her entrance. How did she feel about losing her virginity in a storage closet? Eh. How did she feel about losing her virginity to Roronoa Zoro ANYWHERE? Worth it.

After Loo's little pep talk, she knew it was supposed to hurt the first time, but pain was nothing compared to the heat and desire whirling around her. So with only a small pause, giving him the chance to stop her, she pressed her body down until just the head of him was inside, wringing a gasp from her as her head fell back again, her breasts quivering with her panting and from the effort to steady herself with her arms. The stretching sensation was driving a raging firestorm through her veins. Pain, yes, but the pleasure was far more overwhelming.

Her nails dug into his arms, then she slid her body the rest of the way down in one quick, smooth motion, settling them together like the perfect sword in the perfect sheath. "Zoro," she gasped out his name, her head spinning from the intensity of the friction, from the pleasure ripping through her. Her legs tightened around his waist involuntarily, drawing him in even deeper until he was hilt-deep, and her body clenched around him greedily.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Tikka whispered into the darkness, "I want you to fuck me until you can't think of anything but my body." Her voice was husky in the darkness, tight with the feeling of him filling her to the brim.

Zoro had been so turned on when she'd turned the tables on him, grabbing his face like he had hers and laying a dizzying kiss on him, drawling his name so that it sent butterflies up his stomach. God, he could hear that all day long and not get tired of it.

But even her kiss couldn't distract him from what happened next. It wasn't what he was expecting in the least the moment he shoved her into the dark storage closet of a strange ship, but the idea titillated him and he was helpless against the force of their arousal. She crawled up his body and one minute, she was kissing him senseless and the next she was guiding his shaft into her hot core. She paused, as if asking his permission, and his answer was only to push himself deeper inside her. He stifled a groan, dropping his head into the hollow of her shoulder.

There was no word that could have described it accurately for him. Hot and tight, like a warm glove but so soft and smooth. And god it was such a turn on. Her breath came in short, stuttered gasps, his name rolled off her tongue, her nails dug into his shoulders. She hooked her legs tighter around his hips, pulling him in closer, deeper and she whispered to him; "I want you to fuck me until you can't think of anything but my body."

His wicked smirk was shrouded in the darkness, his face against her shoulder, "I don't do anything half assed," he rumbled back to her, grinding his hips against her, creating a deep rhythm. The gasp he drew from her was loud enough that he covered her mouth with his hand, her breath fast and hot against his palm, "Someone's going to hear you," he said, his voice deep and ragged, a sly grin on his face.

With one hand under her ass to hold her up, he was able to guide her hips, his pace getting faster and more urgent as the pleasure washed over him, his nerve endings burning. Her breasts quivered just in his reach and he leaned down to capture one in his mouth, forcing her to arch into him. It didn't cross his mind that this was a quick and dirty fuck in a closet, or how this was his first time with a woman; all he could think about was how she was consuming him and he was going up in flames over her if this _didn't_ happen. He was driven by instinct instead of experience. The pleasure bordered on pain and he removed his hand from her lips and replaced it with his mouth, kissing her senseless, his tongue slipping beyond her lips to stake claim.

His climax came fast but he was expecting it this time. He released her curvaceous ass with one hand to slid his fingers between them, goading her to finish with him as he felt his balls tighten. He growled her name against her mouth as he pushed into her faster, deeper, until the world exploded and he tumbled over the edge. His fingers dug into her ass bruisingly as he pushed her hard, her body tight, working over his.

As he'd picked up the pace, there was nothing Tikka could do but dig in her heels and hold on for the ride of her life. She had thought the feeling of just him entering her was pleasurable, but it was nothing compared to the pleasure rocketing up her body as he began to pump inside her, promising that he did nothing half-assed.

Good thing she was the same way.

His hand under her ass gave her the leverage she needed to grinding her hips against his as he moved in and out of her, and her muscles spasmed and clenched around him rhythmically, milking him for more.

She was about to cry out in pleasure when his hand suddenly clamped down on her lips, and rather than piss her off, it added fuel to the fire, turning her on even more. She bit down on his fingers, lightly, drawing his finger into his mouth so that she could suckle him with her mouth while her body suckled his member, moaning around the digit as he picked up the pace. Her body wound tighter and tighter, pure heat replacing blood in her veins as her breathing picked up a notch, and sweat beaded her brow.

"Faster Zoro," she pulled her head back and released his finger, whispering her entreaty desperately against his palm as her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

His hand was pulled away, and replaced by his mouth, his tongue plunging deep. That motion, having him penetrate her both ways, was highly erotic. Then he touched her, urging her on, and she lost control. She came hard, and fast. She didn't care if people heard her, lost in the pure ecstasy of it. She cried out his name, her fingers gaining purchase on his biceps and digging in to hold on for dear life. She writhed against him, her back arched, her breasts smashed against his chest, her legs clamping around his waist and her heels digging deep into his tight ass.

As she started to come down, her legs loosened their death grip around his waist, and her body sagged against the wall behind her as a satisfied smirk pulled up the corners of her well-loved lips.

Zoro was glad her climax had come on the shirttails of his and he probably could've gone all over again. He didn't have to see her to know that she tipped her head back and screamed his name, nothing in the world could have kept her quiet. A thrill went through him and he pushed deeper, slowing down until she finally stopped.

There was a moment of silence between them, only the sound of panting breaths and racing hearts. She detangled her legs from his hips and when one foot touched the ground with her toes, he set her down gently. It was a moment of complete satiation. He had this bizarre desire to lay in his hammock and sleep, even more bizarre when he immediately thought that she should join him.

He pushed those feelings away and yanked his pants up around his hips and snapped them together. He grabbed her dress and adjusted her so that she looked somewhat presentable, though it was hard to tell in the dark. He clipped her back together and felt around for his shirt and jacket and after another minute, he was all set and he turned to her again in the dark.

Part of him couldn't believe what they'd done, but another part of him knew it had been a long time coming. Ever since he'd first laid eyes on her, he'd wanted this, even if he didn't admit it to himself.

Then he did the unexpected. He wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her right off her feet. He didn't know where the urge came from, but it satisfied him completely to squeeze her, to feel her body pressed against his for a different reason than lust. Then he laid a kiss on her mouth before pulling his head back to regard her shadowy features in the dark now that his eyes had adjusted.

She was glad he'd grabbed her up, because she couldn't have moved when he'd first let her down, and she was lucky that her knees hadn't given under her. She'd been unable to resist a silly grin as he fixed their clothes-She had excellent hearing, and now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she could see fairly well in shapes. He fixed his own clothing before turning to her and fixing hers, an action that made her smile in the ambiguous darkness.

She had opened her mouth to say something when suddenly he swept her up into a tight hug, one which lifted her feet off of the ground and had her breath rushing out of her lungs in a rush.

He...was hugging her.

Emotions suddenly overwhelmed her, and her arms, half plastered to her sides, slid around his waist until she could squeeze him back, her heart in her throat. They'd just shared an extremely intimate act, and only now was it hitting her. She'd come to really care for this man, and for everything he'd done for her in the past weeks.

She never wanted this hug to end. She buried her face against his neck, still pretty hot from their exchange, and nuzzled the skin there softly before she placed a gentle kiss right under his ear. He pulled back his head, and she wanted to kiss him.

It was about then that she heard a muffled but distinctive voice through the door say, "Hey, Red-Hair Shanks, how've you been?"

Her eyes flew open, and she pushed back and dropped to her feet with a rush of excitement. Her hands wrapped around Zoro's arm squeezed excitedly as she jumped up and down in front of him. "Shanks is here! Oh my god, Shanks is here!"

Leaning up on her toes, she pressed her lips to Zoro's in a quick, happy kiss before gleefully shooting out and around him to the door, yanking it open, and running out. She barely stopped to get a look around before her eyes landed on the flaming locks of her godfather.

With a happy shriek, one that had quite a few heads turning in her direction, Tikka took off running, making a beeline for Shanks, who turned just in time, laughed, and opened his arms as she launched herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly.

Shanks let out another laugh, swinging her around like he used to do when she was little, then put her down on her feet and held her at arms length to get a look at her. "Well, aren't you grown up, Tikka Doll. I came looking for you because you're dad is throwing a fit to be heard all the way to Sky Island, but you seem pretty capable, little lady."

Tikka grinned, "Yep! I'm old enough to take you on now, especially with my new teacher!"

Shanks' smile slipped a little and his nostrils flared for a moment, then his gaze snapped up to her disheveled hair and rosy cheeks. She had the appearance of a woman straight from a roll in the hay. His eyes turned deadly. "Oh yeah…? New _teacher_ huh? And who might that be?" His voice was suddenly hard and menacing, and Tikka blinked, confused.

* * *

><p>He followed behind her at a more leisurely pace. It didn't really turn all his buttons on to see Shanks. He didn't exactly know the guy that well. He knew that he was the original owner of the infamous straw hat. That… about summed up his relationship with the Red Haired pirate captain. He respected the guy, for sure, considering the high regards his captain had for the man.<p>

He did kinda owe him for ending the war and saving his captain though, he supposed.

But Tikka seemed pumped and she raced on ahead of him. He reasoned out that it made sense that she knew Shanks; him and Mihawk had an odd relationship, and he might have been the closest thing to a friend that guy had, and if anyone were to know that Hawkeye had a mysterious baby girl, Shank would be the guy. Of course, these were only rumors. Tikka had seemed to confirm it though.

He made sure all his buttons were done up straight and he was all tucked in with his jacket on right as he approached from behind Tikka, just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation and watch as Shanks' eyes narrowed darkly.

"New teacher, huh? And who might that be?" Shanks asked, his voice lilting with suspicion and his eyes drank her in from her messy hair to her flushed face and rumpled dress.

Zoro could've throttled her in that moment. Did she not think this through BEFORE she went running off? She looked like the epitome of a female who had just gotten laid in a closet. Anyone who knew her, hell, even those who didn't know her would KNOW that she just had the sex of her life. And his too. He stifled the smug smirk on his face as he came up behind her. He wouldn't be intimidated by no man, not even Red Haired Shanks.

"That'd be me," he answered Shanks' inquiry, crossing his arms over his chest, "Is that a problem?"

He and Shanks shared a moment of masculine judgment, each of them eyeballing the other. Shanks' expression clearly said, 'I will end you if I don't deem you worthy,' and Zoro's said, 'Fuck off, I ain't going anywhere.' It was Shanks who gave in first with a chuckle.

"Good man," he said, "Not that I expected different. Only the best on Luffy's crew."

"What about my crew?" Luffy came out of nowhere again, a large baguette in his hand. He glanced at Zoro and surprise lit his face, "Zoro! There you are! Been looking for you! Shanks' here!" he gestured to the pirate captain.

"I got that, Luffy, thanks," Zoro replied patiently.

"What were you talking about?" Luffy took a gigantic bite out of his bread.

"Just… getting acquainted with each other," Shanks answered. That satisfied Luffy.

Tikka blinked again, studying both Zoro and Shanks from when they stared each other down. Where had that tension come from? But it has ended quickly, and Shanks was smiling again, mentioning something about nothing less from Luffy's crew.

She was very confused, but decided to ignore it and launched into a series of questions for Shanks, eager to hear all about his adventures since she last saw him. Unconsciously, she shifted and stepped back until her arm brushed against Zoro. Her body sought his warmth, even distracted by Shanks as she was. She was too busy chatting away to notice, but Shanks did, and he had to hide his amusement quickly. It was clear that Tikka was head over heels for this man, and...

From the light in Zoro's eyes every-time he glanced at Tikka, he had a feeling he had it bad for the girl as well, even if he didn't know it yet. And if he knew his goddaughter at all, she could be quite the handful, and especially an instigator. He almost felt bad for the swordsman.

"Well Tikka, your father might beat me senseless for not grabbing you and delivering you into his angry hands, but I think you're doing quite well on your own," Shanks said with a grin and a wink.

"He worries too much, besides, I can't live on that island forever. What better crew to attach myself to than this one? Luffy's going to be the King of the Pirates some day, you know, and that's the crew I want to be on." Tikka said proudly, and Luffy let out a laugh before slinging his arm over Tikka's shoulder good-naturedly and offering her a bite of his baguette, a rare treat from the normally food-greedy captain.

Shanks laughed and reached out to ruffle Luffy's hair, dislodging the straw hat until it fell against his back, suspended by its string.

* * *

><p>It was real late when everyone finally made it back to the ship. Tikka had only slept for an hour when she woke up again, and stared at the ceiling for a good half hour, debating with herself, before she finally scooted out of the bed and got to her feet.<p>

Robin and Nami were fast asleep, and Tikka took her time sneaking past them and out of the girl's dormitory. She wore her pajamas, which meant a white cami and loose lounge pants. She carried her sword in her hand, not feeling like putting the holster on. A good swordsman had their swords with them at all times.

It was a matter of minutes, to sneak into the boys' room. Luffy and Usopp were snoring, which she wrinkled her nose at instead of laughing, loath to wake anyone. Her plan was to be out of here early enough in the morning that no one would even know...maybe not even Zoro.

Grinning, she approached his hammock and gently laid her sword against the wall next to him, right in line with his swords. He slept so stoically, and there wasn't much room for her, so instead, she crawled on TOP of him, making the hammock bed rock, until she could slid her body down between his torso and his arm, pillowing her head on his chest with a smile.

"Goodnight, Zoro," she whispered.

Zoro had known the moment she left her room above them. He heard her, or rather, sensed the rhythm of her movement. He wasn't awake enough to care, sort of floating in that half sleep, half conscious state. When the door to the boys' dorm had opened, he leaned his head up to blink at her blearily before laying back down.

He was aware of her as she tiptoed around the other hammocks and bunks until he could tell that she was right next to his. He turned his head to watch her lean her sword against the wall next to his and grab a hold of the ropes on the hammock boat to crawl into it with him. There wasn't exactly a whole lot of room…

She solved that by laying right on top of him, swinging the bed wildly as she got comfortable. Her head was resting on his chest and one leg thrown over his hips. He surprised himself at how much he enjoyed the feel of her pressed against him like this. He hooked his arm around her and leaned his temple against the top of her head, his fingers combing through her curls automatically.

She said good night to him and he made a noise at her in the back of his throat, not awake enough to work his vocal cords into a proper response.

* * *

><p>It was morning when Zoro woke up again, light streaming through the crack under the door. He weakly remembered Tikka joining him in his hammock and feeling her slight weight beside him confirmed it. He gave her a squeeze. Sometime in the middle of the night, they had repositioned so that they were laying side by side and his body was curved around hers.<p>

He opened his eyes and nearly had a heart attack when a pair of eyes stared back at him from Tikka's side. Eyes that weren't Tikka's. He yelped and the hammock rocked dangerously. Luffy's grin lit up his vision, the captain so close to them Zoro could feel his breath.

"Luffy! What the hell!" he exclaimed, reaching over to take a swipe at his captain.

Luffy chuckled and moved out of reach. "Did she crawl into the wrong hammock last night?" he may have asked the question, but his expression suggested that he knew that she purposely came into this room.

Across the room, Sanji leaned up in his bunk, "She was supposed to be in mine," he winked at Tikka, earning a glower from Zoro.

Luffy turned his head to look at Sanji, eyebrows furrowed, "No. She likes Zoro, not you."

Tikka, awake but silent up till then, let out a laugh and pushed herself up to regard the boys with a perked brow. She saw Sanji's easy smirk and couldn't help herself. She winked at him, saying, "Aw, maybe next time Sanji."

The cook grinned, but she took that opportunity to throw herself over Zoro's body in order to grab the edge of Sanji's hammock, and promptly dumbed him on his ass. Chopper, Franky, and Usopp, all awake now from their commotion, burst into laughter, and Sanji, from the floor but still sporting a grin, swooned about the hardships of forbidden love.

Tikka chuckled and then shifted so that she was propped up on Zoro's chest, looking down at him, and winked. "You have such nice bedmates." Because she couldn't help herself, she leaned down and captured his lips for a hard and drugging kiss, one which had Franky throwing a pillow-and missing-in their direction as he told them to get a room.

Tikka giggled and smoothly slid out of the hammock, landing on her feet in a slight crouch. She reached out, grabbed her sword, and straightened all in one move. "This IS the bedroom, Franky," she told the guy with a sassy grin, then with a backward glance at Zoro, she sashayed her way out of the room, and shut the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Luffy told the crew that it was time to head out soon, that the log pose had set to the next island, so everyone decided to head into town one last time and restock the ship.<p>

It occurred to Luffy in a rush that he hadn't seen much of Nami since the middle of the Pirate Ball when Shanks showed up. And when she came out of her room to join them on their jaunt into town, she was reserved and quiet. He watched her for a while as they walked. Robin explained to Usopp and Franky that she wanted to gather a few more books from the library and Chopper needed to stock up on bandages and poultices and herbs, saying he was running low.

Nami hung back from the group and Luffy could tell that her mind was clearly elsewhere. She didn't stop to look at any of the clothing stores or the local craft store to oogle the paper and instruments she could use to draw her maps. He tried to recall if she was weird last night and he thought that she might have been. She'd been acting weird lately in general. Something was bothering her and she wouldn't say what.

He had a really strange feeling about her; she looked like a startled creature, ready to bolt at any second. Not for the first time, he wondered what happened over the two years since they were apart.

Luffy sighed, then rushed ahead of the group and hooked arms with Tikka, "Come on! We have to hurry and restock! Adventure awaits!"

* * *

><p>As they headed into town for their final errands, Zoro's mind was on other things. Just thinking about the morning had his heart doing a stutter step in his chest. It was so… easy, he decided, to wake up next to her in the morning and have her act like it was nothing made it all the better. She acclimated well to the boys' dorm. He had mixed feelings about her sleeping with him in that room; all the boys tended to sleep in various states of undress. Though, the rational part of him concluded that she was making her living on a pirate that was two thirds men. Seeing them partially nude was part of the job description.<p>

Still, their relationship became a whole helluva lot more complicated now. What the hell were they? Luffy had decided that they were "boyfriend/girlfriend," whatever that meant. It freaked him out a little to think that he was starting to really care about her. He tried to just think about it one day at a time.

Luffy came up and snatched Tikka's arm, the two of them skipping away down the street, singing something about adventure. Zoro rolled his eyes at them.

"Hey!" Sanji called, coming out of a shop just ahead of the singing duo, "The butcher in there said that there is a really nice reef on the other side of the island with tons of great fish. Said it would be worth it to check out if we planned to stock up."

"Yes!" Luffy exclaimed, "MEAT! Tikka! Go fishing and get me some MEAT!"

When Luffy pulled her to a stop, Tikka turned around to listen to Sanji, and couldn't help but be excited at the prospect. Fishing in reefs was an entirely different adventure. Her eyes instantly skipped to Zoro, and a wicked gleam shone in her eye at the prospect of being across the island with Zoro, alone.

She grinned. Good things tended to happen between them on beaches.

"Of course, Luffy!" Tikka said with excitement, jumping up and down. She hurried over to Zoro and hooked her arm through his and cocked out a hip as she tipped her hat back with a confident smile on her face.

"Zoro is still learning how to fish like a pro, so he'll come with me! You guys can finish up here and then sail around the island to get to us. It'll be faster for everyone if we go on ahead now, on our own. You'll have to sail all the way around, but since we're on foot, you should get there a few hours after we do, just enough time for us to get a good amount of fish for you, Luffy."

"That sounds reasonable," Robin said calmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then it's decided! Let's go, sensei," Tikka said to Zoro, and started marching down the road towards the forest, and a direct line to the other side of the island.

* * *

><p>AN- Please leave comments as they do a lot to improve our writing! Hope you enjoy! ^.^


	16. 16 Trouble! The Petrified Pirates!

Four hours later, they'd succeeded in traversing the island and had arrived on the other side. Thankfully, she'd ignored all of Zoro's suggestions on directions, or else they might never have gotten there.

During the trek, Tikka came to a discovery about her relationship with Zoro. Yes, she found him incredibly hot. Yes, she wanted to be touching him as much as possible. But, she also discovered how much she just enjoyed _being_ with him. She enjoyed his humor, found his lack of a sense of a direction hilarious, and discovered that he was a surprisingly good listener. She liked to talk, a lot, and while he was mostly silent and rarely contributed to her chattering, he _was_ paying attention. Most of the time people tuned her out when she got chatty, but every now and then he would surprise her by asking a question, to clarify his understanding. It was refreshing to have someone actually listen to her.

Walking next to him, Tikka felt a sense of warm anticipation entirely different from the heady anticipation she felt about getting physical with her swords master. She didn't know what love was or anything that lofty, but she felt like, given some time, she might find herself irrevocably in love with this man. She already _wanted_ to be, even if she felt too little time had passed to tell. Still, just the idea that what they had could be going somewhere gave her a thrill of excitement. As they trekked, she slipped her hand into his, and when he tightened his grip on her with a brief smile, a deep sense of content settle over her.

Yes, this was the right place for her to be. With him. With the Strawhats.

Eventually, they broke free of the dense jungle to find themselves on the other side of the island. The beach looked pristine, and Tikka was instantly excited. She ran towards the water, dropped her bag and other items on the beach, and ran until she could kick up the surf, laughing.

She could see the reef a short distance away, under the clear water, and smiled. She was looking forward to some good reef fishing, but had another idea on her mind first. There was a good chance she wasn't going to be able to get any Zoro-Alone-Time before the ship arrived if they dove right in to business.

So she spun around to face him, a slow and sensual smile curving her lips upward, and started walking back towards Zoro, her hips swaying suggestively.

She reached down and tugged her shirt up and over her head, then tossed it to the side, leaving her in that red bathing suit he loved so much. She didn't stop walking until she was an inch from him, then reach up to grab his chin with one hand while her other hand went to the front of his pants, toying with the button. She pulled him down for a teasing kiss, her tongue sliding along the seam of his lips as she pressed her breasts against his shirt.

"Before we fish…" she murmured, sliding her fingers under his pants, sliding along the tender flesh of his lower abdomen. "We should warm up a little…"

* * *

><p>"Captain! There's an island up ahead!"<p>

"Excellent…" Captain Sporko of the Petrified Pirates leaned over the mast head and shaded his eyes. Ahead of them was the outline of a coast and what looked like a long beach, "Let's make for that beach, men!"

"Sir, it looks like there's a reef coming up. It could scrap the bottom of the boat!"

"Pull off to the starboard side. We can moor on the edge by the cliffs and walk to the beach!" the Captain ordered, "Full speed, men!"

Not a half hour later, the Petrified Pirate ship anchored on the edge of the beach just to the left of the reef. Captain Sporko laid his hands over his hips and surveyed the area. There was a town on the other side of the island that they could approach through the forest by nightfall.

"Captain, sir," his first mate Korfu came jogging up to him, "Sir, take a look through this," he handed the captain a spyglass, "There are two people on the beach, sir and one of them looks like Roronoa Zoro, a member of the Straw Hats!"

"A Straw Hat, huh?" he peered through the spyglass and saw a green-haired man with three swords and a beautiful young woman with snowy curls, "Looks like they are having a little romantic outing. What is the bounty on Zoro's head these days?"

"160 million beris."

Sporko collapsed the spyglass and handed it back to his first mate, "I think he might just be worth our time then…" a vicious smile curved his thin lips.

* * *

><p>He had hastily agreed to go fishing with her because he knew that it was probably one of the few opportunities that he was going to have alone time with her… and alone time usually led to something more exciting than fishing…<p>

As he watched her from the dry sand of the beach, he decided he was right.

She sauntered up to him and laid a steaming kiss on him that he reciprocated, "I'm down with warming up," he replied, urging her down into the sand. Her hands were already heating him up, toying along the edge of his pants. He straddled over her, one knee shoved up in between hers, his mouth edging along her neck and teasingly over the line of her bathing suit.

Things were just about to get serious when a blast hit him from behind, sending him head over heels over the sand. He hardly got his bearings when he was hit with another blast, this time around his thighs that sent him further along the beach. He tried to sit up, spitting sand and realized that a band of something solid was wrapped tightly around his shoulders, pinning his arms to his sides, and the same hard band was around his thighs. Concrete, and very heavy.

"What the hell is going on?" he shouted, unable to see her from the angle he was essentially pinned down in, "Tikka!"

"Well, well, well," a voice accompanied by a shadow loomed over him, "It looks like I captured Roronoa Zoro. Who's your friend? She's pretty. She looks oddly familiar to me for some reason…"

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro spat, "Actually, I don't even care. I'm just going to fuck you up." With his incredible strength, he pried his legs apart, breaking through the stone that surrounded him. The man standing over him was clearly a pirate captain, with a harsh face and dancing wicked eyes. He could see the rest of the man's crew surrounding them.

"Oh, that won't do. You broke through my Concrete Concrete Fruit. Stronger than I thought you were," Zoro didn't have a chance to roll away before the captain shot some sort of liquid out of his fingertips that looked oddly similar to the Wax Wax Fruit and as soon as it encased him from hip to ankle, it hardened to solid rock, impossible to break through without any leverage.

"There, now that I've captured you…" the captain turned to his crew, "Men! Go raid the village! Korfu and I can handle these two," he turned to lean down to Zoro, "Hardly worth the 160 million on your head," he plucked the three swords from his sash, "I'll take these as winnings for myself."

Panic coursed through him. Without his swords… the captain grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him across the beach towards the water. It gave Zoro a chance to check out Tikka. She was sitting on the beach, hands and feet bound in the Concrete Concrete stuff too, her chest heaving, panic written all over her face.

"God damn it, you fuckhead, I will end you!" Zoro cursed, twisting his trapped body back and forth, "I will drown you in the ocean where you can't swim."

Pure anger coursed through his veins like molten lava. He'd been had. These idiots weren't any match to him, but he was immobilized. He'd been so focused on Tikka...

Dammit, how could he let this happen? Gritting his teeth, he strained against the concrete.

"Funny, Roronoa Zoro, that's what I plan to do with you," the captain said, entering the tide as he continued to drag Zoro behind him like a bag of potatoes, "I don't mind a thirty percent cut from the marines for handing you in dead. Your bounty is big enough that that money will do me and my crew mighty fine. You'll probably be more trouble alive anyways," he tossed Zoro into the ocean up to his shoulders, "The tide will cover you in less than an half an hour. In that time, I'll get close and personal with your lady friend. I wonder if she has a bounty too…"

* * *

><p>One moment, Tikka had been gazing up at Zoro, excitement and anticipation coursing through her veins, and the next, she was gazing up at clear blue sky as Zoro was whipped away from her.<p>

She sat up quickly, her hand shooting out as if she could grab him, but the action only exposed her wrists, and suddenly a force hit her hands hard enough that she was torqued around into the sand, hitting it face first. Another force hit her ankles, hard enough to make her grit her teeth in pain.

Rolling over once more, she forced herself into a seating position to find that her hands and ankles were bound in rock. Concrete, to be more exact. Her eyes flashed over to find that Zoro was in a similar bind, but with heavier bounds.

Instinctively her hands went up and over her head, drawing her sword fast enough to use the momentum to lift herself up and out of the sand and onto her feet, balancing precariously as she faced their attackers.

"I see you're a spitfire, sassy wench, but that won't do," the captain tsked at her, and suddenly shot his hand forward. She dried to dodge, but he'd anticipated it, sending wet concrete both to the right and to the left of her. The mound hit her sword, hard, and solidified around the blade. The force ripped it from her hand, and she let out a cry of anguish as her most beloved weapon was flung away from her.

"How dare you put your shit on my beautiful sword!" she practically screeched, now on her side in the sand, having lost her balance in her bid to avoid his attack. She was helpless as she watched the captain turn his attention back to Zoro. A part of her felt confident that Zoro would be able to get them out of this predicament. He was incredibly strong, he should be able to-

He broke through the concrete, but that was only replaced with an even thicker layer that covered all of his legs. Her breath caught, and then her heart seized as the captain started dragging him towards the water.

They were going to...drown him?

"Zoro!" She called, rolling onto her knees and pushing herself up, but the captain had already turned his back on the cursing swordsman and started approaching her, his calculating black eyes flickering from her hair to her sword and back to her golden eyes. She growled at him, opening her mouth to call him every foul name in the book, but with a cold grin, the captain pulled his leg back...then delivered a fierce blow to her stomach.

She gasped, her eyes widening, her body convulsing from pain that flared out as she fell back into the sand. She didn't make a sound, her jaw clamping shut to keep from crying out, as her body trembled from the waves of pain radiating out from where he'd kicked her.

"Now, time to figure out who you are…" The man stepped around so that her fallen body became visible to Zoro, no longer blocked by the captain's frame. "Oh, let's get the introductions started on my end…I'm Captain Sporko of the Petrified Pirates. See, we came to raid this island, and then we find you two here...it was too good not to take advantage of...and who might you be, dear?"

She stubbornly refused to answer, simply glaring up at him as she starting shaking from pure anger now, rather than pain.

As he spoke, he had stepped up to her, using his boot to tip her chin up so he could investigate her face. "You look familiar to me…"

She glared, then spat at him, turning her face away and refusing to acknowledge him. The man only roared with laughter, and delivered another swift kick to her gut. This time, she couldn't suppress the half gasp, half cry that emerged from her lips, nor could the drops of blood flying from her lips be ignored. She rolled over to give him her back, trembling all the more as she tried to hold her pain inside.

"Not going to tell me, are you?" The man seemed nonplussed, and promptly leaned down to grab the binding on her wrists, dragging her up until her shoulders protested and she winced. "I don't think that's a good idea, hotcakes."

Pulling back his free hand, he punched her so hard that her head kicked back on her neck, and her chin whipped around with enough force to send her curls tumbling around her face. Still not done, he pulled his hand back again, started to punch, but stopped his hand an inch from her face. She glared up at him, her eyes sparking with fury and hatred.

"You are a pretty thing...maybe I'll play with you a little before I kill you…" Sporko muttered, and then his hand dropped, opened, and palmed her breast right through the bathing suit. Indignant heat rose to her cheeks, and she tilted her head back as black anger filled her heart at feeling violated from him.

"Mmm...so soft...you're a rare treasure, aren't you?" Sporka murmured, and Tikka took that moment to suddenly lash both of her legs out, and caught him squarely in the balls, right with the concrete binding on her ankles.

Roaring, the tone high pitched for obvious reasons, he dropped her like the plague and doubled over. She rolled away, trying to worm her way towards her sword, her only chance.

He recovered remarkably well, because she'd only made it halfway when he suddenly grabbed her by her ankles, dragged her back, and then picked her up upside down. He was _very_ strong... "That was a very bad idea, missy. You're going to tell me who you are now." His voice had lost all amusement for the moment, too gritty from the pain obviously still lingering from her blow.

Tikka kept her mouth shut, glaring up at him silently from where she hung upside down. The captain perked a brow at her, smiled calmly, then suddenly his free hand shot out, punching her, hard, in the solar plexus.

All of her breath rushed from her body, and she dropped harder than a rock as he released her, curling up on her side as she fought to breathe.

"So you won't tell me if I threaten your life, huh? Well...how about his?"

Sporko turned towards the sea. What appeared to be the man's second in command was sitting obediently on a rock a few feet from Zoro's slowly submerging form, watching with a sick smile on his face. Sporko grinned at the man, glanced back at Tikka, then headed towards Zoro, lifting up his hand as drops of concrete dripped from his nails. "Maybe I'll fill his nose with concrete until he suffocates from the inside out...or maybe I'll just fill his belly with it until it bursts."

Tikka sat up suddenly, ignoring the pain which flared across most of her body. "No! Dracule Ratikka! Daughter of Dracule Mihawk!"

Just like that. She didn't care what he did to her, and she had faith in her daddy's ability to defend himself, but she would NOT be responsible for Zoro's death. She realized, in that one moment, that she would die for him. Her whole being rejected the idea of his death. She hadn't known him for very long, not when compared to Shanks or Loo, but he'd come to be a big part of her world. _He_ was the one who had brought her into this exciting world, had shown her so many things she'd never known about before. She felt fiercely loyal and attached to him, and she _would_ die for him, without hesitation. Was that what love was?

The captain paused, his back to Tikka, and a cruel smile slid over his features, visible only to Zoro and the second in command.

He turned around, and suddenly he had a blade in his hand, a short sword. Had it been concealed in his clothes? Her stomach tightened suddenly, but she kept her face fiercely stubborn.

"The daughter of Mihawk, eh? Well...I have a debt to repay that man...He embarrassed me, and killed many of my crew mates, a few months back. That's why you looked so familiar...I memorized his face because I swore to take revenge on him. I think this will redo the favor nicely...and what better way to torture his daughter than with a sword? I usually fight with my fists and my concrete, but for you, special treatment." Sporko started walking towards her, slowly, and Tikka started trembling inside. "I'm going to cut you up until there is nothing left but those hawk eyes of yours…"

* * *

><p>The minute the captain – Sporko was his name – was done with Zoro, he turned his attention to Tikka and Zoro would have done anything to have her just shut up and sit still and silent. Her sass was drawing the man's attention and Zoro could see the cruelty in his eyes.<p>

"Tikka! Shut up!" Zoro shouted, wriggling for all he was worth without avail to get out of his bindings. He slammed his fists against the concrete on his hips so hard under the water he was bruising his hands, but the way his arms were pinned to his side severely reduced the force he was able to put into the blow. He had to get out of this, he couldn't leave her there on the beach, exposed and unprotected like that.

His face lost all its color when the captain lifted her up and aimed a forceful kick right to her stomach, sending her rolling through the sand. A foreign emotion filled him; dread. And desperation. And pure, unadulterated black rage.

"I will kill you!" Zoro shouted as a gentle wave swelled over him and he sputtered as it came up to his nose and then back down to his shoulders, "I will cut you into ribbons and feed you to the fish!"

The captain wanted to know who she was and she wasn't talking, zip-lipped and determined. She was punched, kicked, held upside down and dropped hard into the sand, groped, and all he could do was stand, utterly helpless in shoulder height water that was steadily rising. His breath came fast and his eyes dilated to watch and he shouted until his voice was hoarse.

Then, Sporko turned his sick and twisted expression Zoro's way, "What if I threaten his?" he asked, "I could fill his nostrils with concrete until his suffocates… or fill his belly with it until he explodes…"

"Don't listen to that bullshit!" Zoro shouted at her, but she caved instantly and he read the panic clear in her eyes.

"My name is Dracule Ratikka! Daughter of Dracule Mihawk!" she cried, panting.

"Shut UP, woman!" he growled at her, but it was too late. He spotted the sadistic look on Sporko's face as he turned to Tikka with a knife in his hand, "NO! You leave her alone, damnit!" he renewed his struggling with a ferocity that was unmatched, but that helpless desperation couldn't help him save her. He'd known that naming a notorious pirate as one's father was never a good idea. Too many people had grudges against powerful men like Mihawk, and if they didn't, they stood to gain by getting any upper hand with them. This was not good. "Take me! Torture me!" the words came out before he had a chance to censor them, so quick, so natural that it startled him. He was easily ready to put down his life for hers. It choked him to think that he was in the water and unable to get to her, "PLEASE!" he begged. Roronoa Zoro begged for nothing in his life, but he begged for hers.

Had she really become so important to him in such a short amount of time? He didn't know, but he didn't question his instincts as they screamed at him to save her.

"I have a bone to pick here, Zoro. Don't worry. Your time will come. The tide is already rising." The captain smirked over his shoulder at him.

Tikka's eyes flattened and turned hard with determination. She would not shame herself with weakness. She would not cry, she would not beg for her life…

Hearing Zoro beg for her life-not his own, but _hers_-hurt worse than any of the physical blows yet. Tears of pure anger leapt to her eyes, but she swallowed them down and clamped her jaw shut. How dare this man force the most honorable and prideful man she knew to reduce himself to begging for her life.

It wasn't shameful for him to beg for her life, not in the least, but it infuriated her beyond anything she'd ever felt. She was shaking from this anger, enough so that it gave her the energy to push herself to her feet again. She was a gymnast, for goodness sake. She had perfect balance, perfect training. She just needed to FOCUS.

And this anger gave her plenty of focus.

"You are not worth the breath it would take for me to cut you up with my sword, Spanky-pants," she said haughtily, refusing to show pain or weakness.

What concerned her more that the dull pain in her body was that she was starting to realize just how dire this situation was. She was as good as dead, from the looks of things, and if she died, Zoro had no chance. The tide was rising, and even he couldn't hold his breath forever. He would die.

Then her mission would be to free him, even if it was the last thing she did.

The captain halted his approach, and sputtered indignantly, "Are you...are you mocking my name?"

Tikka smirked, lifting her arms in front of her just a little, subtly shifting into a facsimile of an acrobats stance, her knees bent. "Well, your name either sounds like some type of eating utensil...or a type of pig. I can't decide which one flatters you more." She fluttered her lashes at him.

"You're dead." The man shot forward, but she was expecting it. She bent her knees more, then sprang up into a triple axle flip that ended up only being a single axle. The concrete weighed her down too much, but it was enough.

She landed on the other side of the enraged captain, and wasted no time in backflipping through the sand repeatedly as she headed for Zoro, picking up speed, hoping to crash into the concrete around his shoulders hard enough to shatter it.

Her feet touched the water, and elation started bubbling in her chest. She was going to make it, just one-

Her world came to a sudden and grinding halt went her body jerked to a violent and abrupt stop. Pain flooded her, leeching the color from her face, mere feet from Zoro's, as she looked down to find the second in command standing just slightly to the side and in front of her, a long and slender sword in his hand. The business end of that sword had pierced right through her right shoulder.

"Forget about me, princess?" The man asked with a wicked grin.

Struggling for breath, struggling not to pass out, Tikka gasped, trying to insult the guy, but he'd already taken a step forward, driving the sword deeper, forcing her back. She lost her balance, and tumbled backwards, sliding off the sword like a well-done kabab until her ass hit the wet sand and she collapsed.

"That was quite the stunt you pulled...where did you learn moves like that? Last time I checked, your father wasn't quite so nimble…" The captain's shadow fell over her form, and she could only blink up at him as she struggled to breathe while blood started oozing out from both the exit and entrance wounds.

"Go...to hell…" she whispered, and spit at him again. She couldn't see that her spit was now tinged with blood. She didn't have the time to get more creative, not when he reached down and grabbed the shoulder where she'd been wounded, and started dragging her back over the beach.

The pain...was unbearable. She couldn't stop herself if she wanted; a cry was ripped from her throat and she went limp for a moment as his fingers dug into the wound track, and her world went fuzzy and dark.

As he dragged her away, her body was still facing Zoro, and she fought to keep him in her vision, to tell him with her eyes all of the regrets she felt. She thought she'd have loads of time to analyze her feelings for Zoro, but now she had only seconds, and her heart screamed at her that she loved him, or as close as she'd ever come to such an emotion, and she desperately wanted Zoro to know this before it was too late. Life was short, shorter than she'd ever realized, and not exploring their relationship deeper was a tight regret in her chest. She had only moments to try and convey that to Zoro before the man dropped her in the sand again, raised his short sword, then brought it down through her thigh, narrowly missing the bone but thankfully hitting mostly tissue. The sword was driven through her leg, and deep into the sand, pinning her to the beach like a butterfly under a scope.

It might not have killed her, but she might have preferred that at this point. She screamed, her head falling back and her body bowing off the beach a little. "Now, stay put, miss Ratikka."

Breathing deeply through her nostrils, trying desperately not to pass out, Tikka could only glare up at him as he took out a small dagger from his belt. "Let's get creative, shall we?"

"Fuck...you," she grit out, and the man only grinned down at her cruelly, and slashed the dagger in two fast cuts. The cuts were shallow, an 'X' right over her heart, on the exposed swell of her breast. Her breath hitched.

"That's my goal, bitch...that's where I'll end up...X marks the spot…" Sporko grinned down at her, then burst into laughter. "Man I love being a pirate."

It was unbearable to watch, yet Zoro couldn't take his eyes away, even for a second. He was compelled to watch by a force outside his control, a crippling need to keep her in his sights, no matter how grotesque the situation.

Fuck the water; the panic was going to suffocate him first. She was such a spitfire and her determination was admirable. He was torn between wanting her to fight with every breath in her body and just having her sit there like a good girl because she was just making matters worse for herself.

The world narrowed right down to her when she stood up and performed an incredible acrobatic flip over the captain and started a series of backflips towards the water. He analyzed her thinking; she planned to get close enough to him to smash the concrete around his shoulders. If he could have his hands back…

It happened so fast that he saw it in slow motion. Mid flip, her eyes met his and out of the corner of his vision, he saw the first mate – who was guarding him quietly – leap off the rock and pull a long, thin sword off his back. One thrust and he caught her through the shoulder, interrupting her momentum like a flame snuffed out of a candle. Zoro shouted her name as she collapsed into the wet sand on the shore, yards from him, blood pulsing out of her shoulder. He pulled at the rock encasing him, but he was stuck solid; the concrete embedded into the bed of the ocean below him. He couldn't move from his spot one inch.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled…" the captain approached her and Zoro spat every foul name combination he could think of at him, earning him nothing but a glower as the captain grabbed her by her injured shoulder and dragged her back up the beach, ripping an anguished scream from her throat as her face paled and her eyes unfocused. It reverberated down to his core, shaking him with fury.

"Now, stay put, Miss Ratikka," Sporko thrust a sword through her thigh, burying it down to the sand to pin her there like a stuck pig.

"Tikka!" Zoro shouted, angling his head up to keep the vitals out of the fast rising tide. He needed to get to her; he couldn't die like this, not when she was screaming and writhing on the sand as the bastard laid into her, slicing and dicing. He was going to torture her, rape her, kill her.

No. Not on his life.

Zoro was going to rip that guy to shreds, limb from limb, spoon his eyes out, rip his fingers off then have Luffy launch him so far into the ocean that he'll become a sea king snack…

"When I get out of here, you bastard…" Zoro shouted, his voice rough around the edges. A wave came up and covered his head and he sucked in a breath. The wave subsided only to be followed by another. The tide was here. In seconds, he was going to be under water. At the first opportunity, he took a huge gulp of air…

Just before he went under, he heard the captain say to Tikka, "The tide is here. Looks like he'll be underwater for a while. How long do you reckon he can hold his breath for?"

The ocean swallowed him up. He struggled under the surface, slamming his fists into his hips in an effort to break the concrete. If he was only stronger… he wouldn't die here. He was going to be the greatest swordsman in the world. He wouldn't die here only as second best…

As the minutes ticked by and his lungs started to protest, another thought occurred to him in a rush. He hadn't figured out where he and Tikka stood. They had this heady, complicated relationship and he had yet to see it through. He refused to die because he wasn't yet the greatest swordsman… he also refused to die because of her.

His lungs burned, his head felt faint. He wiggled in the concrete harder, his leverage limited because of his shoulder restraint. With every struggle, he punctuated it with a word that he roared in his mind. I. Will. Not. Die. His movements grew slower, weaker, his body required oxygen to keep going. His vision swam, spotting in and out. The desire to breathe was paramount. The ocean became darker and as his vision blackened, his last coherent though was: I failed.

Captain Sporko of the Petrified Pirates laughed in Tikka's pale face when she managed to lift her head enough just in time to see the water covering up Zoro's face. At first, just the top of his hair was visible, and then even that was gone.

"Zoro!" she screeched, trying to get up-and suffering immensely from it as her leg flash white-hot pain right up to her spine. She fell back on her back with an anguished cry to the heavens.

"You dirty son-of-a-bitch! I hope you die slowly, I hope you rot in your grave, or better yet, I hope you spend eternity in Davy Jones' locker, slowly going mad!" her voice shook with the fury and the pain she was feeling. Her body had long since gone numb to specific pain, all she knew was that she hurt.

"Perhaps I will, one day...but not before you do," The captain grinned gaily, then leaned down to make another cut over her stomach. He'd begun making Xs all over her body, starting at her hip and working his way up. The pain had become a dull fire racing up her skin.

"Davy Jones saves his secret place for fuckheads like you, Sporky-pants," she whispered hoarsely to him, and earned a punch to the face and a black eye as a reward.

"Shut up, bitch. I became a pirate because I get to do shit like this for kicks. Your pain makes me smile," the man laughed above her, but she was done giving him her attention.

It didn't matter, none of it mattered. Zoro was going to die. The knowledge brought her own death all the sooner, little by little, as the will to fight ebbed away with the knowledge that even if she lived, she wouldn't have Zoro's cocky grin waiting for her.

She wished she could go back, she wished she had woken him up, in his hammock, and told him that she cared about him. That she maybe loved him, even...she'd never felt anything more powerful, so what could it be but love?

'Sex is not just about sex, Tikka...sex is much better when you love the person,' Loo's voice drifted in her mind. She closed her eyes, and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes.

"Finally crying, eh? Good...because I'm nowhere near done with you…" Sporko's voice sounded distant to her, and she didn't even bother telling him that her tears weren't for herself.

* * *

><p>The water was calm as Nami fixed the riggings and adjusted the sails of her small one-man skiff that she'd purchased soon after the Thousand Sunny had headed around the island. She'd told Luffy that she'd meet them at the beach after she got the last of her supplies for their next voyage. The crew had been willing to wait, since that had been the initial plan, but she hurried them off early, assuring them that she would catch up to them in no time and that the fish Tikka caught would go bad if they didn't get them in the tank soon.<p>

But it had been a lie...a lie that ate at her gut. She wouldn't be rejoining them, not for a little while, and that was IF she succeeded in her most important mission. She wish she could tell them what was going on, but it was too risky, and not for her beloved crewmates, who she knew could handle their own.

No...she needed to do this on her own. Many, and young, lives depended on the careful actions she took since she'd been 'temporarily freed' from Watcher's clutches...Lives she couldn't risk.

Small faces with eyes too big for their starved bodies flashed in her mind, hardening her resolve as she aimed her boat in the direction she'd heard this mythical island to be. Just one cup...she just had to get one cup, how hard could that be?

Ignoring the way her stomach twisted painfully, she pushed on.

* * *

><p>AN-I hope you are enjoying the story! My co-author, Jesachi, will start posting up chapters of Nami and Luffy's story very shortly, so check it out! Also, we would love some reviews!


	17. 17 The Strawhats Arrive! Rescue!

"Luffy! Something's wrong!"

Luffy turned his head to see Usopp up in the crow's nest with his lenses over his eyes, adjusting the vision, "What do you mean?"

"There's a ship on the far side of that beach… and it looks like a fight is happening on shore!"

"WHAT?" Luffy stood on the mast head and shaded his eyes. He couldn't see much, "What do you SEE, Usopp?"

"Uhh… it looks like Tikka is on the beach… with two guys. I don't see Zoro anywhere. Holy shit… Luffy, she's surrounded in blood… and there's a fricking sword in her leg!"

Well. That certainly didn't sound good. He turned to give directions for Sanji, Chopper, and Franky to bring them in when a scream pierced the air, halting all conversation on the Thousand Sunny.

"ZORO!" it was Tikka's voice, screeching into the air, raising all the hair on the back of Luffy's neck.

"Robin!" Luffy hollered, "Get them!" he pointed to the men on the shore, one with a knife glistened in his hands.

Robin did some bloom bloom magic and on the shore, they could see arms sprout from the men's shoulders and arms, wrapping around him and incapacitating them with her signature clutch move. Both men went down hard, but the one closest to Tikka seemed to be resisting.

Luffy stretched out his arm to the closest tree and launched himself onto the beach, his feet sinking deep into the sand from the force of his landing. His features were dark with rage as he observed the scene before him. He raced over to Tikka, his curled fists shaking with anger. She was covered in blood, with tear tracks cutting through the grime of her face, and she was pinned into the sand by a sword in her leg. Blood beaded from various X's all over her body. Binding her ankles and wrists together was some kind of smooth stone that looked like concrete.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the rest of the crew running knee deep through the shallows to get to the shore; Chopper on Usopp's shoulder and Franky piggy-backing Robin. He crouched down next to Tikka, "Chopper's coming and he'll help you out, promise," he told her before standing and eyeing the jackass on the beach, held down by Robin's hands. He wanted to take care of Tikka, but he needed to find Zoro first.

Luffy stormed over to him, death in his eyes and hauled him up by the front of his shirt, "Where is Zoro?" he growled, giving him a shake, "Tell me or I pummel you so hard you won't even be recognizable when I'm done."

The captain chuckled weakly, "You can't save him, Straw Hat. Guaranteed he's drowned by now, wrapped in my concrete."

Luffy growled and slugged the guy in the face and dropped him back into the sand and Robin's waiting hands. He faced the ocean and could see plain through the clear water to glimpse Zoro's green hair. He reeled his shoulder back, "Gum gum…" he launched his fist into the water, the force of his reach shattering the concrete that held his swordsman to the bottom of the ocean, flipped his hand and grasped his shirt to haul his ass out. Zoro popped out of the water like a cork and hit the beach so hard that all the water in his lungs was forced out and he rolled over, coughing and gasping, dripping wet.

"You alright?" Luffy asked, breaking apart the rest of the stone that encased Zoro. By that point, Chopper was kneeling next to Tikka and instructing Sanji and Usopp to hold her down so he could pull the sword out of her leg.

"Yeah," Zoro gasped, "Where's Tikka?"

"Getting checked out by Chopper. What the hell happened?"

"This guy… came out of nowhere and ambushed us with his devil fruit…" Zoro explained, getting to his feet slowly, his knees shaking. He had to get to her, had to make sure that she was alright…

* * *

><p>Tikka couldn't believe her ears. She'd dismissed Sporko's sudden silence, too tired and hurt to care, but then suddenly she heard a new voice...Luffy's voice.<p>

Her eyes opened in shock to gaze up at the Straw Hat captain, and fresh tears burst into her eyes. "Get Zoro!" she urged, her voice so hoarse that it was barely loud enough for him to hear, but it didn't matter, the rubber man was already gone.

She tried to lift her head, to see what was happening, but suddenly three more bodies were surrounding her: Copper, Usopp, and Sanji. It took all of her willpower not to break down in front of them, not to sob like a baby, but then pain became her gag. Sanji looked grim, and effortlessly broke the concrete restraints on her wrists and ankles with a deft kick.

Chopper wasted no time, kneeling down next to her and immediately turning his attention to the sword sticking out of her leg. "Hold her down, Sanji, Usopp...there's no other way to get this out," Chopper said seriously, inspecting the wound where the sword was plunged through her leg. "Luckily, it missed the main arteries and bones...but she'd pretty messed up." The doctor's face was pinched with displeasure. "You're going to be alright Tikka...I'll fix you up good as new, don't worry."

"Zoro...where's Zoro…" she begged hoarsely, and Usopp's face replaced Chopper's in her limited vision.

"Calm down Tikka," Usopp said. "He's fine, he's gonna be fine. You need to focus so we can help you," she couldn't be sure, but his voice might be shaking. She could only swallow and stare up at him as relief spread out like a salve to know that Zoro was alright. Without the need to stay awake to ensure that Zoro would live, her vision wavered and she fell dangerously close to unconsciousness.

"Tikka, Tikka," she felt a hand, no..a hoof, on her face. "Stay awake, Tikka, we need you to talk to us now," Chopper told her sharply, his blue nose quivering with the knowledge that he was about to impart some pain on one of his favorite crewmates, one of his nakama.

Chopper's voice was heavy with pain for her, his sympathetic eyes flickering over the wounds. He shifted into his larger humanoid form, and slowly wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword, "Ready?"

"I'm...ready…" she whispered, and her fingers twitched as she tried to grab someone's hand, anyone's, but all three of them were too focused on her injury to notice.

"Don't worry Tikka, we'll get you cleaned up and then you can spend the night in my hammock, just like you promised," Sanji reassured her, but she'd never seen the cook so pale. She tried to smile weakly for him, but that was when both him and Usopp put their weight down on her good shoulder and hips.

Chopper yanked straight up, fast and efficiently. Didn't matter that he was damn good, the pain, and blood, which came as a result had a scream ripped from her lips before she could clamp it shut.

Tikka's scream pierced the air and jolted Zoro into action. His limbs were still trembling from being underwater for so long and his lungs were on fire, but all that was a shade in comparison to his need to get to her side. Zoro stumbled through the sand, snatching up his swords on the way and collapsed next to her. Chopper had pulled the sword from her leg and was hurriedly wrapping the wound with bandages, his fingers covered in her blood.

She was a mess, but god, was he so happy that she was alive and in one piece. Slices littered her body, shallow X's all over her from hip to collarbone and her shoulder was caked with sand and blood from where the first mate's sword went through her. She was pale and trembling and he could see that she was slipping in and out of consciousness by the way her eyes dilated and didn't focus on anything.

"Tikka, Tikka, it's okay," he told her, combing her hair away from her forehead. He didn't register anything but her, didn't notice that Chopper made a clicking noise at Usopp and Sanji to go away and both men disappeared to go deal with the first mate, "I'm right here. Chopper's gonna fix you up, promise."

He was going to kill that sonuva bitch Sporko. He was going to gut him and rip him apart and toss him in the ocean. He tempered his rage though, not wanting to freak out Tikka. She didn't need any more stress.

Tikka was glad that Zoro appeared when he did because otherwise she would have passed out. The sight of him, safe and alive, was enough to jolt her back into consciousness, despite the pain radiating up her leg. His worried eyes, the panic in his expression, the care she saw in his eyes had her heart rate picking up and her skin tingling with relief and happiness.

"Tikka, calm down, you're gonna lose more blood that way," Chopper admonished, but there was no force behind his words, just anxiety, as he hurried to stem the blood flow from her thigh, and then shifted up to the other serious wound in her shoulder.

Tikka swallowed and forced her eyes to focus up on Zoro's face, his wonderful, perfect face. A smile cracked her lips, and she slid a trembling hand over to touch him, brushing her fingers against his free hand before she twined her fingers through his.

"Zoro...I'm so glad you're alive…" she murmured. She struggled to keep the pain from showing on her face, struggled to keep herself dignified under the circumstances.

"Zoro, I wanted to tell you, I think I l-" her words were cut off when Chopper tightened the bandage on her shoulder in an attempt to save more blood, and the last remaining color in her face disappeared and her jaw clamped shut to keep from crying out.

Her fingers tightened around his, her body trembling.

A few feet away, Sanji, Robin, and Luffy stood shoulder to shoulder. Franky had been the first one to go after the first mate after Robin had released him from her grip, and in the distance, him and Usopp were dragging the man back with them.

"They must have been caught unawares...I've heard of him, he has the concrete concrete fruit," Robin said calmly, but her color was a little off too as her eyes flickered from the scene involving Chopper, Tikka, and Zoro and back to the captain, now tied securely and sitting waist-deep in the surf, effectively nullifying his Devil Fruit. "If we had showed up any later..." she drifted off, reigning in her usual morbidity.

Sanji was shaking with fury. "How dare you touch our nakama...how DARE you torture the beautiful Tikka," he pulled his foot back, then delivered a punishing blow to the guy's stomach. Sporko grunted and gasped, doubling over in the water.

"Sanji, leave him to Zoro...I'm sure he will want to take care of him," Robin murmured, her voice effectively reeling in the cook, who started to pace instead, for once not making a comment about the swordsman.

* * *

><p>Zoro's heart twisted as Chopper did the best he could with bandaging her up. She was as white as the sand and the hand she had entwined in his was trembling badly. He still felt that tightness of helplessness as he watched, but he knew now that she would be fine. Chopper was damn good at what he did.<p>

"That's the best I can do right now," the reindeer said, wiping his forehead, "I have better supplies on the ship. A few days of rest and she should be fine," Chopper gave Zoro a once over, "What about you? Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He was light headed still, but overall uninjured. His eyes flickered from her face to the surf where that bastard was tied up and sitting in the water and his expression darkened, "Bring her to the ship for me. I have some business to take care of."

Chopper glanced between Tikka to Zoro to the pirate and back again and nodded, "I'll get Franky to help," he got up and headed for the cyborg, leaving Zoro and Tikka alone for a brief moment.

He stared at her for a minute, a whole jumble of emotions threatening to crash down on him. He couldn't even begin to digest how he felt. Relieved, scared… He sat her up and she leaned into his shoulder heavily, closing her eyes. He pressed his lips into her hair for a brief second, feeling wound tighter than a screw over her. He didn't understand what it all meant. Was it love when he would easily throw himself under the bus for her? But that didn't make any sense, because he'd do the same thing for Luffy or even that dumb cook. He could say that he loved his crew… then again, he wasn't about to drag Luffy into a storage closet either…

All he knew was that he was in deep and she shook his steady foundation like no one had ever done before.

"Zoro," Franky's voice cut through his thoughts and the cyborg reached out his hands, "I'll take her for you," Chopper, small once more, was resting on his shoulders.

"Good," he nodded and scooped Tikka up into his arms before gingerly passing her off to Franky, who carried her with the gentleness that one would carry a newborn. Zoro squeezed her hand before Franky headed for the ship, "I'll come see you in a little while," he assured her and Franky started the trek to the ship. Tikka didn't take her eyes off of him until Franky's large body blocked her view.

Zoro waited until they were out of range, then he turned to glance out into the shallows where Captain Sporko was sitting, looking livid. Zoro smirked and drew a single sword, "I'm going to make you wish you were never born," his voice was dark with malice as he waded into the surf to haul the pirate out. That bloodthirsty look crept into his eyes. Off on the shore, he heard Luffy chuckle darkly.

"Stick around, captain," Zoro called to his rubber friend, "Because you're gonna toss this meat into the ocean in a minute."

"I'd love to." Luffy laughed.

* * *

><p>The events after Zoro handed her off to Franky were a little hazy to her, but when she finally woke, she found herself in Chopper's doctor's office. The little reindeer was mixing some kind of medicine in a bowl.<p>

She tried to sit up, but Chopper's sharp ears flickered, and he said over his shoulder, "I don't think so, Tikka. You need to NOT move."

With a rueful, but pained, smile, she lay back down, feeling exhausted. She might have been there for minutes or hours, but probably she slipped back into unconsciousness, because when she opened her eyes again, it was dark.

She wasn't awake for long, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she'd been drugged.

She tried to rouse herself more, to get up, but darkness pulled her down again.

* * *

><p>It was two days later when Tikka finally awoke for good, and this time she actually felt like she'd stay that way.<p>

"Tikka's awake!" Chopper's voice came from a few feet away, and she turned her head in time to see the little reindeer pull his head back in from shouting out the door.

"Chopper...hi," she managed to say, pushing herself up despite Chopper's many sounds of protest as he hurried over. "Nonsense Chopper, I feel fine...I heal quick. How long was I out?"

"Well, yeah, you do, but still! You have open wounds and you lost a lot of blood. It's been two days," Chopper admonished.

"Two days!" Tikka cried, and tried to pull the sheet off of her and ended up in a mini tug-o-war with Chopper as he insisted she stay in bed.

The door opened, and over Chopper's head she could see Sanji and Franky poking their heads in through the door.

"Tikka!" They both called, and she could only laugh and shake her heads at them.

"Hi guys…" mid-words, her stomach gave a loud rumble, and heat rose into her cheeks as Chopper just stared at her belly. "Guess I'm hungry…"

"I'll make you food right away!" Sanji called, and disappeared. "I want MEAT!" she called after him, which she was sure he heard from the chuckle she got in response. His spot was quickly filled by Usopp, and behind him, she heard Robin's voice as she told the boys to move out of the way. Faintly, she could hear Franky laughing.

"Where's Zoro? Nami? Luffy? Is everyone okay?" Tikka asked, since they had yet to make an appearance.

Chopper instantly sobered, and Franky and Usopp sent glances at each other.

"Zoro is in the water, fishing, though I think he's coming now," Franky answered, then glanced at Chopper before looking at her again. "Nami's...gone. She disappeared...and, well, Luffy went after her…"

Tikka felt worry shoot through her, but if she knew anything about her new nakama, they would be fine, and she could see that though everyone was clearly worried, that they also trusted their captain. Otherwise, everyone would be a wreck.

"I see…" she murmured, then leaned against the wall as she got a little dizzy. Chopper huffed and hurried forward to feel her forehead. "I'm sure Luffy and Nami will be fine, they're both really strong." Tikka said, and the glum expressions on everyone's faces brightened as they nodded in agreement.

"What about the rest of the pirates? They went to attack the town!" Tikka suddenly remembered, sitting up straight again, but Chopper only pushed her back with a glower.

"They're taken care of! Zoro told us, and Luffy and Franky caught them before they reached the town. It's a good thing we were here or there might have been a lot of damage done by them to the nice villagers."

Tikka let out a sigh in relief, and smiled, "That's good. I'm glad everyone is okay...I'm sure Nami and Luffy will be back in no time too," Tikka said cheerfully, sitting up again more slowly this time. Now that she was reassured that everything was okay, her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to see Zoro.

She slid her legs off the medical bed, and Chopper waved his hands in the air frantically, "Tikka! You can't leave yet! Are you crazy!"

"I want to see Zoro!" she whined, reverting to child-like tactics as frustration fizzled in her stomach.

* * *

><p>Zoro was sitting on the edge of the ship, his feet hanging over the side. For two days, Tikka had been out cold. Chopper said that was normal for someone who lost as much blood as she did, considering the amount of drugs he'd given her to keep her from moving around. In that time, the ship had been a whirl of excitement. After Zoro and Luffy disposed of the trash that hurt her, Luffy and Franky had headed back towards the village to take care of the pirate crew. That was how they'd discovered that Nami had disappeared. Zoro couldn't stop picturing the strange look Luffy had had on his face as he told everyone that they were going to search the island up and down for her.<p>

She was nowhere to be found.

Luffy made the decision to follow her and bring her back and after some serious protesting, he left in the Mini Merry, alone.

"Someone should go with you," Sanji had reasoned, "If you fall in the water…"

"I won't fall," Luffy said, hard determination in his gray eyes, "I'm coming back with Nami. I won't drown. Besides, the boat would be two crowded with anyone else," he added with a stubborn huff.

It was Zoro who finally got everyone to chill out and keep faith in their captain.

"Zoro's in charge while I'm gone," Luffy had said as he finished settling all of the supplies into the small skiff. The bulging bag of food nearly took up the whole boat. "And when Tikka wakes up, she's substitute navigator."

Then everyone had waved off their captain as he headed out to find their real navigator.

"Tikka's awake!" Chopper hollered, snapping Zoro's attention back to the present. He flipped his legs over and hit the deck, still in his swim shorts with a long serrated knife tucked into his sash at his back. Everyone was crowding her door, talking at once and he heard her voice say, "I wanna see Zoro!" she sounded a little whiny, like she wasn't getting her way.

"I'm right here," he smirked, elbowing his way into the door frame, "Everyone out," he growled and Chopper took that moment to get serious and ushered everyone back, saying that Tikka needed her space. Robin lent a hand – or four – and within moments, the room was cleared out and it was just him and her.

"Sit down. You aren't going anywhere," he told her, pushing off the doorframe and joining her on the bed, perching himself on the edge, "How do you feel? You look better." Most of the color had returned to her face, but she still looked a little white. He reached out a hand and brushed her hair back from her face.

She reached up to capture his before he took it back, and pressed her cheek into his palm, inhaling his scent so that she'd never forget it, just in case they were ever in a situation like this one again.

"I feel fine, no one should worry about me. I'll be in top shape within, like, a day," she reassured him, which probably wasn't true, but he didn't need to know that. She was not going to be babied; she'd had enough of that her whole life.

She scooted closer to him, pulling his hand down to her chest now, placing it over her heart, where the cross-shaped cut was beginning to heal. "Zoro, I need to tell you something," she murmured, color suddenly filtering into her cheeks-and subsequently making her dizzy, which she ignored-and she suddenly couldn't look up at him anymore.

She could only hold his hand to her heart, wondering if he could hear it beat faster for him. "When I thought I was going to die, my biggest regret...was that I couldn't tell you that I love you...or, I think I do...I'm not really sure what it's supposed to feel like, but I was willing to die for you...I'd do anything for you...and it's cool if you don't feel the same, I just want you to know that I do."

Her words tumbled out in a rush, her eyes shaded, her breath catching a little.

Zoro swallowed hard and looked down to where his hand rested over her heart. Something about the pure act of it had his heart jumping into his throat. He could feel her heartbeat, strong, steady, a little quick maybe, but alive.

Her words came out in a rush, like she'd been holding them back for so long that they couldn't stand the pressure anymore. And if he thought his heart did the mambo in his chest a few minutes ago, it was nothing like now. It was racing so hard that he was dizzy from it.

She loved him, or she thought she did. He didn't know what to think about it. The idea was heady and certainly, he had considered that perhaps he loved her back. But hearing it out loud like a declaration was completely different than having the thought cross through his mind. He was shocked, yeah, but at the same time, it just sounded so… satisfying.

He was quiet for a minute, making some quick decisions in his head. He had so much emotion and feeling for her that he wasn't sure he could narrow it down to one word like love. He was becoming too familiar with being overwhelmed by her. His heart and lungs squeezed tight in his chest just looking at her. He wanted everything from her and yet nothing at all. He didn't know if it was love, but he was willing to find out.

Having no words for her, he grabbed her face with both his hands and laid a passionate kiss on her. It took him all of about two seconds for him to wrap his arms around her and pull her into him, so that she was literally in his lap. It felt so good to feel her body against his, to know she was whole and relatively well; everywhere his hard frame needed space, she yielded, fitting them together like two adjoining puzzle pieces.

"Tikka baby! I have a delicious meal for you!" the door opened and Sanji stood there with a plate of something fabulous smelling. He stopped dead, that enamored look fading from his face as he and Zoro stared each other down for a heartbeat over her shoulder.

"Get out," Zoro growled and all the cook did was raise his eyebrow with a smug smirk. He laid the spread down on the table near the door and just like that, he was gone with an amused chuckle.

* * *

><p>She wasn't expecting anything from her little confession; she just needed it out. She'd always been raised to live a life of no regrets, and the fact that she'd had a regret, when she'd thought she'd been about to die...had been unsettling.<p>

So she was just relieved to have said it, but when he pulled her in for a fiery kiss, joy burst in her chest. She reached up to slid her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had.

He pulled her in close, and she couldn't have been happier. Since he'd been fishing, he wore nothing but a pair of trunks, and her hands were happy to wander over his shoulders, down his chest, simply enjoying the sensation of touching his skin. Her hands were heading south for the drawstring of his trunks when the door suddenly burst open. Her spine went rigid and she froze, feeling like she'd just got her hand caught in the cookie jar for some reason.

Zoro's growl, however, only served to turn her on even more, and Sanji had barely shut the door before she was pulling at the drawstrings, sliding her fingers into his shorts and wrapping her fingers around the thick length of him.

"Food after...Zoro first...I did say I was particularly hungry for...meat," she murmured, her lips against his neck. She grinned and nibbled playfully as she shifted on the bed until she could slide one knee over his hips, and straddle him. In the same motion, she reached behind her with her free hand, and undid the string to her bikini with deft, quick hands.

Her breasts sprang free, and her eyes gleamed wickedly as she draw his earlobe into her mouth for a playful bite. Zoro sighed in a resigned, almost teasing way, and Tikka couldn't have been happier.

* * *

><p>an-sorry for the long delay...busy busy! This is the second to last chapter of the story, so enjoy!


	18. 18 Epilogue: A Day at the Beach! Mihawk!

It'd been a week since their ordeal with the captain of the Petrified Pirates. Tikka was healing nicely; all her X's were fading under Chopper's amazing ointment, and her thigh and shoulder had bandages on them. But she was up and moving around. She couldn't go swimming – doctor's orders because she would scar – but she was doing a little physical therapy with Chopper in order to keep her sword arm working good as new. Zoro helped too with the occasional sword practice to get her back in shape.

And of course, he provided another kind of therapy...lots and lots of sex. Which he was more than happy to oblige.

They anchored on a little remote island for the morning. Sanji set up a fire to cook some food, Robin and Tikka were sunbathing, and Usopp and Chopper were tinkering around with Franky on the ship, fixing anything that needed repairs. It'd been sorta tense among them without Luffy and Nami; it became blatantly apparent how much they relied on their rubber captain to lead them. And of course, everyone was upset and curious about Nami and where the hell she went.

Zoro was chilling in a hammock strung up between two trees when something caught his eye out in the water. It looked like a small skiff.

"Usopp," he called, "Something's in the water…"

"Is it Nami-swan?" Sanji asked, standing and shading his eyes.

Usopp adjusted his lenses and even from across the beach, Zoro could see his face pale, "Tikka…" he called back, his voice a little pitched, "It's your father…"

Zoro flipped out of the hammock so fast he tumbled into the sand before he got to his feet. As the skiff got closer, he could see the telltale green candles glowing even in the afternoon light and the silhouette of a giant cross on the back of the ship that matched the hilt of Tikka's sword. He moved closer to her on reflex, his hand resting on his swords.

In a blink, Tikka was on her feet, sword drawn, face serious. Her heart started doing somersaults in her chest, and her feet went cold with both fear and excitement.

She was...excited to see her father, but also nervous.

This was WAY sooner than she'd been expecting. Damn him for being so...persistent. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zoro step forward, placing his hand on his sword.

"No." Tikka shook her head at him, her white curls bouncing around her face. She reached down, grabbed her beloved hat, and plopped it on her hat. She was wearing nothing but a bathing suit, but that seemed to be enough armor for her. "My father is my business. Step down."

She'd never spoken like that to him, and it was a clear sign she meant business. By then, the skiff had come close enough that she could see the little signs that mean that her father was not happy with her. "He's pissed…" she muttered, and a few feet away, Usopp frowned.

"He doesn't look angry...he looks...bored," the inventor said, tilting his head to the side to stare.

"That's because papa isn't very...expression-able, but if you knew him, you'd know he was pissed," Tikka reassured him. Mihawk was the most serious person she knew, and he very rarely displayed emotions, though this applied less to her when they were alone. She was his treasure.

Not that it would save her right now. He looked like he was going to throttle her. While his expression seemed relaxed, as he got closer, she could see that his eyes were narrowed, and his hands were curling into fists and then relaxing at his sides.

The small boat hit the surf, then came to a stop. Without a word, Mihawk jumped from the boat to the beach in a smooth motion, then turned to face her slowly.

"Mihawk," she said, tilting her head down a little as her hat shadowed her eyes.

Mihawk perked a brow, an almost startled look flickering across his eyes and loosened the lines around his lips as he all but glared at her. "What did you just call me?"

Tikka tried to suppress the blush rising in her cheeks. "Daddy, I'm trying to be serious here."

"I see…" Mihawk's eyes skittered over to the rest of the crew, landing last on Zoro, who he stared at for a moment in consideration, then dismissed and returned to staring at his offspring. "It's time to go. Say goodbye."

She sputtered indignantly. "Excuse me? I don't think you understand. I've joined the Straw Hat Pirates, and I'm not leaving. I'm prepared to duel you for my right of independence."

Mihawk only stared at her, his expression unreadable. "So Loo wasn't over exaggerating...you think I'm going to leave you with...them?" He absently waved his hand in the general direction where most of the Strawhats were, the word _them_ heavy with distain. "You can't fight me, Ratikka, don't be ridiculous." For the first time then, he seemed to notice the bandage and the marks on her body as his eyes drifted down over her, assessing her condition. When he realized he was seeing wounds, serious ones, he went utterly still, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Who did this to you?" he demanded, his voice harsh, and Usopp let out a whimper.

Tikka lifted her chin defiantly. "A pirate. And he's been taken care of, daddy, that's not important."

Mihawk's eyes finally lifted to hers, and she was beyond shocked when she actually saw his hand tremble. "He better be dead and rotting in the Locker, or he soon will be. His name." It wasn't a question, but a harsh demand. His eyes darted away from his daughter's, inviting answers from anyone present, if they dared.

"Captain Sporky pants or something, not important daddy! You're not even taking me seriously," Tikka growled. She was so done with this conversation. She shot forward, suddenly, with the speed that she'd earned from her hard training with Zoro.

She pulled out all the stops for facing her father.

Within the blink of an eye, Tikka was bearing down on her father, who was holding her off with the same small dagger he'd first faced Zoro with. "Take this seriously, papa." she snapped at him, and then suddenly she was gone again, moving too fast to track with normal eyes.

But Mihawk had Hawkeyes.

She came at him from the side, and he didn't even both to turn, he just shifted the little dagger. "I will not fight you, Ratikka, especially wounded."

"Stop treating me like a baby!" she hissed at him, really getting pissed now. She draw back, and when she came back in for another strike, she'd split her sword into two. She came at him from the other side, but just as she was about to get to him, she disappeared, and in an explosion of movement, Tikka was suddenly coming down hard from a high flip that increased the velocity of her swords. Mihawk blinked, the only indication of his surprise and shock, before suddenly he was hilt to hilt with his daughter, using his actual sword.

A grin cracked her lips a bit, but she didn't give him time to recover. Mihawk's eyes narrowed, and she knew then that she'd succeeded in getting him to fight from a combination of impressing him, pissing him off, and making him want to stop her.

But in the process, her shoulder wound opened. She ignored it, the bandages keeping the blood from showing just yet. It meant she had another minute or two before he father might notice.

Mihawk let out a growl, a rare sign of frustration, and lunged. He should have been expecting this kind of reaction, and he definitely hadn't expected her to have gained so much skill in a little over two months. The ferocity with which she fought…

His breath caught in his throat as she came bearing down on him hard, and the sun glinted off her hat...and for that brief moment, she looked like her mother, and his heart squeezed painfully.

The distraction was all she needed to whirl around suddenly, like a tornado, and the very tip of her blade caught Mihawk on the arm, ripping his shirt and leaving a long, thin line.

She landed hard, skidding back a few feet, then stood there stunned. She was pretty sure she could count on one hand the number of people who had physically hurt him in a fight. Excitement went through her.

Then he lifted his eyes, and that excitement shriveled. It was the look he gave her that had always meant she was in deep trouble. "Enough of this...I will not risk losing you as well."

Suddenly, Mihawk shot towards her, and the force of the air in front of him knocked her back. She hit a tree, right where the wound had opened, and pain flooded her shoulder. She grit her teeth and didn't make a sound, but the blood had seeped through the bandage now.

And still he came...because she was his daughter, and he knew how persistent she could be, and if he didn't show her how unprepared she was for the world she wanted to be a part of, she would never stop trying to be a part of it.

She barely had time to raise her sword to block him. She shook her head to clear it of the pain, needing all of her senses, but it became abundantly clear soon enough that she was losing.

He'd taken the offensive, and she was barely keeping up a defensive. He was actually fighting her at full force. Robin, Franky, Sanji, and Chopper stared with wide eyes, all significantly more impressed with Tikka.

If she hadn't been busy trying to get her swords up, she would have seen the surprising shine of pride in her fathers eyes. He suddenly pulled back his sword, and swept it down so fast that the wind from the slash blew her back, hard, into another tree, where she slid to the ground as she struggled to regain her breath. She'd barely touched the sand before she was pushing herself back up, angling her swords at her father with gritted determination.

Mihawk looked pained as he started walking towards her. Pain for having to cause his little girl pain, but he knew it was the only way to get her to listen, to come with him. Then he could care for her wounds and make sure she was alright, and never let her leave his protected island ever again.

* * *

><p>Zoro stared. Tikka was dead serious.<p>

Zoro didn't think he'd ever seen her so serious before. She always had an air of carefree silliness about her when she fought, probably just confidence because she was, indeed, pretty good. But when Mihawk stepped onto the shore, she turned into all business. She even snapped at Zoro, to which he lifted his hands in surrender and stepped back from her. She wanted to face her father, that was cool. She wanted to do it alone, whatever. It's not like the guy would actually hurt _her._ Zoro, on the other hand?

He'd be toast.

Their battle began in earnest and at first, Mihawk was just fucking with her, clearly not wanting to get as severe as she was. Zoro wasn't sure if it was because Hawkeye doubted her skill… or if his fatherly affection was getting the better of him.

It was all moving so fast it was hard to track. She was pulling all her best techniques out. And when she sliced Mihawk's sleeve, the man turned much more serious and Zoro felt a spike of adrenaline for her. He had a bad feeling about this… She was fucked. She could barely keep her defensive up, even after all he'd taught her. Mihawk was blasting her back further and further. She was losing ground, losing her footing. She hit the first tree and Zoro winced for her, watching as her face paled and he could see the blood pooling under her shoulder bandage. She was straining herself and her stupid sire was beating the shit out of her.

She hit the next tree and this time, she was slower to get back up. Her chest was heaving, her face flushed with exertion and determination, but that flush sat above skin that was getting increasingly pale with pain. She was back on her feet now, swords up, trembling slightly and Zoro had had enough.

Mihawk approached her for the crippling final blow and suddenly, Zoro was there, facing him off, his body between Tikka's and her father's, one sword drawn and pointing straight at his mentor. No words needed to be exchanged; his face said it all. Jaw set, eyes hard and determined, he was one step away from fully pissed off. No one tossed Tikka around like that and lived to talk about it. The forest and beach was completely hushed, not a soul breathed for those moments.

Mihawk was going off in his head all of the things he had to do, such as disarm his daughter, get her on his ship, scare the shit out of the Strawhats, lecture her for hours, when suddenly, his field of vision was interrupted, and he was faced with his one-time mentee.

Roronoa Zoro. How interesting...he was defending his daughter? From her own father?

Mihawk stopped, taking a moment to process things. His sharp eyes flickered from Zoro to Tikka and back. The man looked livid, and Mihawk had noticed that every blow he'd landed on his daughter had made Zoro's expression blacker.

Curiouser and curiouser…

Suddenly, the color drained out of his face when he remembered something Shanks had said not more than four days ago. He'd initially asked him to look for Ratikka, and when he'd seen the man again, he'd told Mihawk not to worry about Tikka, that she was in "good hands."

But the way he'd said it had sounded fishy to Mihawk...he'd emphasized the word 'hands,' then chuckled as if he was sharing a private joke. Then he remembered the way Loo had acted once he'd returned from his search, and how he'd told Mihawk he couldn't find her, but how Mihawk had sensed the man, his longtime friend and nakama, had been_ lying._

Black rage ripped through Mihawk as he finally put the puzzle pieces together. The hand he raised to point his huge sword at Zoro trembled with his emotions, and his voice was clipped, tight, and severe. "You! Did you touch my daughter? Did you put your filthy hands on her?"

It didn't matter than Zoro was defending his daughter, or that he more or less respected the guy, normally. He wasn't thinking straight right at the moment. He'd never thought this day would come, had protected her from males as much as possible...and still, she fell pray. His furious gaze jumped to Tikka, and the expression on her face, as she gazed up at Zoro, rocked him to the core.

She loved him.

This was so not happening.

"I will not tolerate this," Mihawk growled in denial, and shot forward. He brought his giant sword up, and attacked Zoro at full force, his golden eyes blazing his need to defend his daughter, to protect her from the pain of love, or from being used for her body. Either way, he was going to teach Zoro a lesson.

When Zoro made the split decision to interject into this father-daughter power struggle, he knew exactly what he was getting into. Mihawk was a perceptive man; Zoro knew that drawing attention to himself would tempt the Hawkeye's wrath from what he and Tikka had been doing together.

He also knew, many, many weeks ago now, when he'd first kissed Tikka, that he had been tempting the beast. And he had all that time to prepare for this moment. Hell, he spent his whole life, dedicated his entire existence to this one fleeting encounter. He just never knew that it was going to be over whether or not he got to kiss Mihawk's daughter again.

Mihawk came at him with such speed, but he anticipated it. After over two years of training, he was accustomed to his mentor/rival's speed and as they clashed, Zoro had a second sword drawn to withstand the force of the shichibukai. He was able to shove Mihawk off him and move away from Tikka to continue their battle. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Chopper dart over to tend to her shoulder wound.

It had only been two months that he'd been away from Kuraigana Island, but in that time, he'd picked up some new tricks from a skillful acrobat that had fallen into his custody. He was by no means as good as Tikka was, but she'd helped him to be more spry, more bendy, and it was these skills he employed now, when he needed them most. It gave him the time he needed to draw a third sword, enough so that Mihawk's blazing eyes narrowed further, as if he just confirmed that Zoro and Tikka had worked together in swordplay. He knew that the Hawkeye had noticed it earlier when Tikka clearly used some of Zoro's style.

The ground shook and the trees swayed as they battled intensely. In the back of his mind, he was aware that this was probably the longest he'd ever lasted in a battle against the shichibukai; minutes ticked by as he fended off that massive blade. He ducked low, dodging a deadly slash and used his environment to his advantage. He angled his swords suddenly, sending sunlight directly into Mihawk's eyes and temporarily blinding him for the briefest moment. This gave Zoro a brief opportunity to use the man's broadsword as a springboard. He whipped two swords out and caught a blow on his opponent, sending Mihawk back a few feet, a cut blossoming wound open on his chest.

But in order to give one, he had to take one and it wasn't until he was still for a second, a lull in their fight, that he realized Mihawk had twisted his blade enough to slice open the bottom of Zoro's bare feet. It was quite uncomfortable to stand but the pain was nullified by the fact that he just scored one on Mihawk, a VERY rare affair.

Mihawk pointed his sword in Zoro's direction, his eyes still firing with black fury, but much of it was subdued by the intensity of their match, "Are you in _love_ with my daughter, Roronoa Zoro?" he growled, saying love with disgust for the word.

Zoro lifted his chin, his jaw set, and removed Kuina's sword from his mouth, "Ya. What of it?" he replied, his voice harsh.

"You have already made a promise to another," Mihawk's sharp eyes flickered to the white sword in his hand and back up to Zoro's face.

Zoro glanced down at the Wado Ichimoji before lifting his eyes back to Mihawk's, "I promised my dead childhood friend that I would live long enough to kick your ass. It has nothing to do with how I feel about Tikka."

"What do you plan to do with my daughter?"

Man, what was with the interrogation? "I protect her with my life," he stuck his sword back between his teeth, and grit out around it "Now shut up and fight!"

But Mihawk just stood there and looked at him with this hard expression, completely unreadable, on his face, as if he were making some decisions in his head, "No," he finally said and Zoro's jaw dropped. Kuina's sword hit the sand, "Blood has been spilled. I declare this a draw," he flipped his sword over his wrist and sheathed it across his back.

A draw? Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, the greatest swordsman alive just declared a draw with him? He wasn't sure how he should feel about this. Part of him was so beyond pissed off. In the middle of a battle where he was feeling certain that he might win, his opponent calls it off. Was it cowardice or skill? The other part of him was tickled pink. A draw was better than an ass kicking and one step closer to a win. It fueled his determination that he would indeed, defeat Miawk one day and claim the title of greatest swordsman from him.

What was even better? He loved Mihawk's daughter and was alive to talk about it.

* * *

><p>At first, Tikka was angry when Zoro stepped in, taking over her fight. It was shameful, to not finish a duel, but as she watched, she realized that he wasn't finishing her fight. He'd started a whole new one.<p>

She pushed herself to her feet, intent on keeping her father from killing the love of her life, but suddenly Chopper was in her face, BIG Chopper, and he wasn't taking no for an answer. He forced her back down, saying, "Zoro can handle himself."

Despite this, her eyes were riveted to the whole match, to the point where Chopper growled at her for squirming so much when he was trying to be delicate with her shoulder. "Do you want to scar?" He asked her.

"Yes! Scars are just badges of honor to a swordsman," Tikka said proudly, but Chopper just rolled his eyes and shook his head, used to dealing with Zoro.

"Are you in love with my daughter, Roronoa Zoro?" Mihawk asked as the battle came to a lull. Tikka's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. Did her father really just…

"Ya. What of it?"

Butterflies erupted into her stomach, and she leapt to her feet with a small sound of joy in the back of her throat. Mihawk's eyes flickered to her, then dismissed it with a small roll of his eyes before he proceeded to continue his interrogation. Tikka had every mind to end this now, but Chopper was getting serious. He grabbed Tikka's wrist, pulled her down firmly, and practically sat on her as he finished the last of the stitches for the wound she'd re-opened. "Chopper, did you hear?" she asked, feeling lightheaded. Chopper only shook his head at her, muttering about silly humans.

Mihawk turned his yellow eyes towards his daughter, observing how she practically radiated joy despite the fact that she was getting stitches in her shoulder. Seeing his daughter happy made Mihawk happy. Seeing his daughter happy about being with a man...well, it would take some getting use to.

However, he knew Zoro, and out of all the men in the world, Mihawk supposed that Zoro wasn't that bad of a guy. He'd already witnessed the swordsman's sheer determination and loyalty to his friends. He would protect Tikka with his life, if necessary. And yet...Mihawk glanced over at his daughter, over to the bandage and the faint marks that marred her perfect flesh.

But he wasn't quite done. There was still a matter to attend to. He sheathed his sword in a fluid motion, then approached Zoro with a deadly serious air. His voice was pitched low, low enough that not even Tikka's ears could hear from this distance.

"You say you will protect her...and I believe you...but what the hell do you think you're doing allowing some sick freak of a pirate to do THAT to my daughter?" Mihawk's voice was tight with anger, his eyes flickering behind Zoro to see the X-shaped cuts starting to heal up her belly, on her breast. Mihawk had to look away, else wise he might be sick.

"He better be dead, because 'taken care of' is not good enough," Mihawk finished, and his golden Hawkeyes met Zoro's, seeking the resolution, the protectiveness, that was a_ requisite_ for people around his daughter, like Loo and Shanks, though both of _those_ men were going to get a good ass kicking for this stunt.

Zoro's expression darkened, "I was busy being drowned when _that_ happened," he said flatly, but a sadistic little smirk lit his face after, "But I skewered him like shish kabob and turned him into a sea king snack once I got some oxygen back in me."

Mihawk seemed satisfied with that assurance and Zoro sheathed his swords. Chopper had finished re-bandaging Tikka's shoulder with fresh gauze and poultices. He was looking menacing in his big form; probably to make sure that she didn't try to run into the battle again. Her face was lit up and he gave her a smirk back.

Now that the battle had subsided and his adrenal gland slowed down, he got down to the business of analyzing his fight. He remembered in a rush that he was asked if he was in love with her and he'd answered so effortlessly that it was frightening. Was it supposed to be that easy? He glanced at her again, and just the way she was looking at him had his stomach all in knots. Ya, he supposed it could be that easy.

Chopper came rushing up to him with a stern look on his face, "Sit down," he demanded, holding up some bandages, "I'm going to bandage your bleeding feet."

"I'm fine," he replied instantly.

"You are bleeding all over the sand and getting germs in your wounds! Sit down!"

He looked so… adorable and serious that Zoro obliged him, plopping down in the sand and putting his feet straight out in from of him so that the good doctor could clean and wrap his feet from where Mihawk's sword sliced him open.

* * *

><p>The battle was over, but her father approached Zoro with a dire expression on his face, but he'd lowered his voice so Tikka couldn't hear from her vantage point. She strained to see and to hear what was going on, but Chopper was still sitting on her and stubbornly refusing to let her move. By the time he finally let her up, she was practically vibrating with contained energy.<p>

Chopper finally released her, and she leapt to her feet like a spring held down for too long. She desperately wanted to go to Zoro, but she had an obligation to her father. Just because he hadn't killed her lover didn't mean anything.

He turned to face her as she approached him, and she was happy to see that much of the tension had eased from his face. "Ratikka…" he began, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"Daddy, I've made up my mind. I'm staying with the Straw Hats. Luffy's going to be king of the pirates one day, and I know that you wouldn't want me to be on any crew but the best, right?" She reasoned, crossing her arms over her chest and stubbornly tilting her chin back.

A flash of amusement went through Mihawk's eyes, before he sighed and reached out to draw her into a tight hug. Happiness swelled in her chest, and she wrapped her arms around her father and squeezed him tight. "I would prefer you were not a pirate at all, but you have your mother's determination...nothing I say will change a thing." The wry tone to his voice told Tikka that he'd certainly tried a lot with her mother.

She hid her face against his chest as tears stung her eyes. She wished her mother could see her today...she hoped she'd be proud. "So I can stay?"

Mihawk let out a long suffering sigh, holding his daughter out at arms length. "Ratikka, please do not get yourself killed...You must survive. That is very important to me...you are my treasure, do you understand?"

Tikka smiled up at her father, and wrinkled her nose, "Of course. I'm not going to die, daddy."

Mihawk nodded, and released her. "Then I'll be on my way...Take care of my treasure, Roronoa Zoro, or you'll be hearing from me."

Tikka giggled, rolling her eyes. With that, Hawkeye Mihawk turned on his heel, headed down to his boat, and cast off without a backward glance. That was Mihawk for you. "Love you!" She called, and the man simply raised his hand. Tikka was used to such an abrupt departure from him.

When his formed had started to fade on the horizon, Tikka spun around to find that Chopper had forced Zoro to sit down, and was carefully cleaning the cuts on the bottom of his feet. Tikka couldn't help herself, she put on a burst of speed, and tackled Zoro flat on his back, straddling his stomach, and pinned him down with a kiss full of passion, happiness, excitement, and love. She kissed him so hard it made HER dizzy, so that when she pulled back, she was blushing like mad but her eyes were sparkling and her lips were currently stuck in a perma-grin.

"You're just amazing, Zoro," she murmured, and Chopper made a gagging sound that had her laughing.

He had been so focused on Mihawk leaving and the strange relationship that man had with his daughter that he didn't see Tikka launch for him. Zoro would never have figured the infamous Hawkeye Mihawk as a family man. He just seemed too… serious and brutal to raise a child.

Suddenly, he was bowled over and he only got a glimpse of her snowy curls before she was kissing him dizzy and Chopper was exclaiming a mix of "Tikka! I'm working here!" and "EWWW, you guys are SO GROSS!"

He couldn't resist her charm; even as his stomach twisted in happiness for her and his face flamed with embarrassment at their audience, he still kissed her back with just as much zealous. It still floored him that he was actually committing himself to a girl, to Tikka, that someone had crawled under his skin enough to entice him at all. A month and a half ago, he had zero interest in the opposite sex. Now… he didn't know what he would do without her.

"Ugh, get a room, seriously," Sanji's voice cut through their moment and Zoro heard him light a cigarette, "We should probably get going. We need to meet Luffy at Hibiscus Island in a week. I'm not sure how long it will take us to get there…"

Zoro picked Tikka up off him and placed her down in the sand next to him as Chopper finished wrapping his feet. He flexed his toes experimentally. Yep. This was a good battle scar for his first real draw with Mihawk. One step closer to becoming the greatest swordsman in the world.

He glanced at Tikka. And one step closer to the SECOND greatest swordswoman by his side.

* * *

><p>ONE MONTH LATER<p>

Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk unrolled the morning newspaper that he ordered to his residence every day. He didn't typically read it front to back, but it was a good way for him to keep up on the bigger events. And for him to keep up with the Straw Hats.

He rubbed his chest idly, feeling the slash near his collarbone and he smirked. That… was from his duel with Roronoa Zoro. His mind jumped to how infatuated Ratikka was with him. Well, Mihawk supposed that boy would do. Better than some scummy lowlife he could kick the shit out of. Zoro at least gave him a run for his money.

The latest wanted posters fell out of the paper and that was the part he was most interested in. He rifled through them and one caught his attention and a real smile spread across his face. He'd done a little meddling of his own in the past month since he'd last seen his daughter. If she so desperately wanted to be part of the Straw Hats, then he could do nothing but oblige and do everything in his power to ensure she was successful. He'd made some arrangements for her.

WANTED Dead or Alive: Dracule Ratikka: 65,000,000

Not bad for her first bounty. And the picture was cute; something Loo had taken recently of her, practicing her swordplay in the front yard. Mihawk decided that Zoro had his work cut out for him, because that boy damn well better not let a soul turn in her bounty.

* * *

><p>THE END!<p>

A/N- Finally! I hope you like it :) I know that much of it is not canon, but considering we wrote this before we'd even gotten to the Thriller Bark, I think it turned out fairly well :) PLEASE PLEASE leave a review, and look for Nami and Luffy's story that we wrote, being edited and published by my bestie, Jesachi .net/u/711995/


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